


Paradox

by xxRedRainxx



Series: Time Passage [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, How Do I Tag, Rewrite, Time Travel, i forgot to post here because i'm dumb, not graphic in terms of non-con content but, still be aware of it obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxRedRainxx/pseuds/xxRedRainxx
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke’s fight lead them both to the future, in which things have gone very, very wrong. Things need to be made right, for both Sakura and her daughter, Sarada, as well as their own futures. Heavily inspired by Twitch & Spaz’s ‘Fast Forward’ series (pretty well a remake with added elements).
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Time Passage [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157204
Comments: 25
Kudos: 156





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fast Forward/Pause](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/668599) by twitch and spaz. 



> Hi folks, this is something I have written over the course of maybe the last six months. While I have yet to fully complete it, I am hoping that by uploading it at a casual pace will get me more into gear. As stated in the summary, this is a rewrite of Twitch & Spaz's Fast Forward series. Unfortunately, the series was seemingly abandoned, and I have always wanted to see it finished, but due to it not being updated in a long time, I have lost hope that maybe we will see a conclusion.
> 
> While I state that this is in fact a rewrite, a few things to be aware of is:
> 
> \- This is not a word for word recreation (with editing) - I am barely looking at the original story, so to not have it be too similar; again, some events will be similar, but I have written them up from scratch.
> 
> \- I have added a few things, that you will see later on and the story is already diverging from what was originally written by the original creators.
> 
> \- It takes into consideration a few of the events/powers we see in later chapters of Naruto (and to an extent Boruto).
> 
> \- A few of the main plot points will be similar, but some will be completely different.
> 
> As it is a rewrite/reimagining, I do implore you to visit their account and give some love to their stories, even if they no longer see the reviews or care to. This is project that I hope (if they see), they are proud of.
> 
> While I am proofreading as I go along, there may be some mistakes. There will also be darker themes in following chapters, so if you cannot handle mentioning of it, please do not continue. I hope you enjoy. I have uploaded both the prologue/chapter 1. I am never great at updating, so I will give myself two weeks per chapter so I don't lose what I have ahead.

Red clashed with yellow as their attacks swirled and sparked in their hands. It was time to end this. The shadowy creature’s hand clawed into the rock, while the other snarled, fangs bared as red ooze swirled around him.

‘ _I have to bring him back. I **promised**.’_

‘ _I have to end this now._ ’

They lept at one another.

“ _Naruto!_ ”

“ **Sasuke!** ”

Their attacks collided, then some pain before their world turned white, before fading to black. Chakra sizzling all around them.

.

.

.

A sharp jab to the side of his throat, as he was held up around his neck. A kunai was pressed against him. Confusion marred his dark features as his dark eyes flickered around. ‘ _What? Have I failed?_ ’

Sasuke found himself struggling to get out of the grips of the man behind him, but he was a lot stronger than him, and Sasuke knew he could be dead at any moment. He had to plan this. Carefully. And then, he could finally make his way to Orochimaru and begin his journey to become more powerful.

“Identify yourselves, _now_ ,” came the harsh growl of a masked man – a hawk drawn sloppily onto his mask, with the Konoha symbol in the dead centre, “You have three seconds.”

His eyes found their way onto Naruto who was in the same predicament, struggling to get out of the ANBU’s hold. Though, that failed tremendously.

“Three.”

The two boys struggled for a moment more, before their situation waved on them.

“ _Wait_!” the blonde boy cried, “I’m from Konoha! Can’t you see my hitai-ate?” he said rather loudly, “ _See_!”

Lying on his tummy was the aforementioned headband, with scratches through the metal plating and tears on the edges of the blue material.

The two ANBU looked at each other, and the one holding Naruto spoke this time: “What was your mission? There are meant to be no missions out of the village like this… and this is sacred land.”

The blond swallowed, “I was rescuing Sasuke-teme! Tsunade-baa-chan allowed this! I can _show_ you the proof of that!”

Almost instantly, the kunai was pressed deeper against the blond’s throat, “How _dare_ you talk about Tsunade-sama in such a way, _besides_ – she does not have jurisdiction to start missions anymore!”

‘ _Hm?_ ’

The hawk-masked ANBU tightened his grip on Sasuke now, “Now, tell the truth.”

“But I _am_!” Naruto whined, “And I didn’t mean any disrespect to… Tsunade-sama!”

Both of them paused for a moment, the cat-mask spoke first: “The boy doesn’t seem to be telling lies...”

Hawk-mask looked down at Sasuke now, “He seems awfully like _that man…_ could it be another one?”

‘ _Another **what**?_’

Shaking his head, cat-mask shrugged, “I’m… unsure. The brat in the village looks different to him, more like the whore mother...”

‘ _What?_ ’

“It’s a possibility, you know that… Would it be wise for us to bring them to Hokage-sama? He’ll probably want to know about this...”

“Wait!” Naruto interjected, “Let the Hokage know I’m _Naruto Uzumaki!_ She’ll _definitely_ know who I am!”

Silence fell.

“How _dare you_ even say that you are him,” Hawk-mask snarled, “Are you insane? Delirious? _Dense_?”

Naruto gulped, “Um… yes?”

Hawk-mask swallowed, “I’m getting a headache from this. Let’s just take them to Hokage-sama and let _him_ deal with it.”

The two nodded at one another, and Sasuke felt his consciousness fade.


	2. Past Shenanigans

He found himself chained down in a hospital bed. How did he know it was a hospital? Well, there was an IV drip sticking out of him and the scent of disinfectant filled his nose. Also, the room was pure white and sterile. How did he know he was chained? Well, he tried to stretch and _move_ , but no. He couldn’t. Chakra stronger and potent than his own stopped him from moving.

Next to him, was the blond knuckleheaded ninja. Albeit, less chained up. Literally, in no cuffs of any description. He was snoring annoyingly loud with a bubble of snot dripping out his nose. Sasuke’s nose scrunched up in disgust.

The boy closed his eyes and asked for his chakra to flood to the surface, but… _nothing_. Zilch. Nada. It wasn’t working. This was _weird_. Even for him. Even in his life.

Opening his eyes again, he looked around once more. Nurses were coming in and out of view of the window on the door, before he saw a familiar blonde – Tsunade – walk in. The woman looked the same as always, young and her face full of make-up, even though she was much older than many would expect. At least, that was what he had heard. The older woman’s hazel eyes flickered onto Sasuke in disgust, before she glance over at Naruto with a deep fondness.

“You’re awake already,” she stated, moving to Naruto to check on his vitals and such, “I’m not even _surprised_ that Naruto is still asleep,” she huffed.

Sasuke stayed silent.

After she tended to Naruto, her expression fell onto Sasuke once more. “I was surprised when you both came in,” she said softly, playing with her hair in almost an anxious way, “When I had heard that you were both apparently here, I didn’t expect _this_ at all.”

“Stop talking in riddles,” Sasuke finally said rudely, “I have my goals, and you won’t stop me from reaching them.”

She almost looked sad as Sasuke said this, “Yes… your _goals…_ I’m not even sure where to begin explaining what’s going on, and even if I should considering how delicate this is. Kakashi doesn’t even have an idea of what to do, and he’s the one running the show.”

‘ _What did she mean by that?_ ’

The two then heard the tell-tale signs of someone waking up, with a loud yawn and a groan. The blonde ninja sat up and looked around, rubbing his eyes before grinning at Tsunade.

“I _knew_ you’d get things sorted, Tsunade-baa-sama!” he said cheerfully, his grin wide.

The older woman almost looked like she had seen a ghost when Naruto had begun speaking, and the boisterous kid didn’t really realise what was going on. Not that either of them really understood why things were… _different_. The Uchiha looked down at his chakra bound hands. He couldn’t put them together to make any hand signs, and he also couldn’t move his feet.

Her smile was pained, “Of course, Naruto… I… have some things to tell you, but I think I’ll wait until Sakura and Kakashi get here...”

Sasuke scoffed, “Why do they need to be here? You’re the Hokage, aren’t you?”

“Not anymore,” she said, not looking in Sasuke’s direction.

She didn’t say much more than that.

.

.

.

ANBU arriving in her office was not shocking, but what they said _definitely_ shocked her, “Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are here...”

‘ _What? Why?_ ’

Her green eyes flickered in hesitation as she looked away for a moment. Memories of the latter forming in her head like a drum. It _hurt_ to remember _that_. She bit her lower lip and asked for more information, which the ANBU was not willing to provide.

( _“How did this happen!?” she cried out, clutching onto Naruto’s cold arm, as Kakashi rested his hand against hers, “Why…?”_

_“He was too far gone, Sakura,” referring to the man that Sakura had once loved._

_“…”_ )

Sighing heavily, she willed herself to meet with her once-teacher, and get to the bottom of this.

.

.

.

The medic-nin found herself at the front of the hospital. She had just come in from home, having been working at home from the moment. It was just easier like that for the time-being. She ruffled her long, pink hair nervously, running her fingers through it and catching any knots. The woman took a heavy breath and made her way inside.

One of the nurses were fiddling with their phones, no doubt using the new social media widgets that had recently been created. It was a phenomenon, and it was so shocking to see how much had changed in fifteen years. It was so different to what she had grown up with. Radios had only just been created back then, and now you could watch interviews and such on the television now. The dark-haired nurse jumped and hastily put away her phone and put on a friendly smile.

“Haruno-sama! I didn’t think you’d be in today,” she said, quite shocked.

“Where is Tsunade-shishou? Sakura asked coolly, wanting to get down to the bottom of what the hell was going on.

She had last seen Naruto thirteen years ago… Sasuke thirteen and a half years ago… Why would they return _now_? She knew that the latter was causing many issues all around the world with his army, but… he had yet to touch the Leaf, but she was sure their time was coming. He was leaving them till last, probably to savour it, the sick bastard he is. She knew he was alive, but Naruto? She assumed that he had been killed by Sasuke… but… She didn’t want to believe that…

But why wouldn’t the blond, knuckle-headed ninja not return if he was alive? He had so much here that he would not have been willing to give up.

“Oh, um,” the nurse started, “Room 206. In the restricted zone.”

‘ _Ah,_ ’ Sakura thought, ‘ _It makes sense that they would be kept away from general populace._ ’

Sakura swallowed, before making her way to the elevator, “Thanks, Riko-san.”

“No worries, Haruno-sama.”

It was time to face whatever demons that she had held back in the past.

.

.

.

“You fucking idiot, Sasuke-teme!” Naruto snarled, nearly ripping out of his sheets after Sasuke had uttered something rather insulting.

The two boys were glaring at each-other with venom and malice, particularly from Sasuke’s end. Sasuke had had enough of being here. He would have been in Sound already, if it weren’t for these bindings that these stupid shinobi had placed him into. No, he was still here - still weak. He should be getting stronger under Orochimaru’s guide, and getting ready for the fight of his life time. He had goals, dammit.

Naruto had ruined that for him, for the moment.

“What makes you think I can’t get out of this, and come over there and kill you, dobe?” Sasuke drawled, inky eyes flicking dangerously with the crimson of the sharingan. _Rage_. He felt that at the moment. He shouldn’t be _here_.

“As if you could!” Naruto shouted back, his own rage storming beneath his bluey depth, “You’re a damn idiot, Sasuke-teme! You _know_ that Kakashi-sensei could train you better than that stupid snake.”

No, he couldn’t. Kakashi could make Sasuke strong, that was for sure. But not quickly enough. Kakashi was the copy-cat shinobi who also carried the fabled sharingan. But… Orochimaru and Kakashi were different in their training styles, no doubt. The young Uchiha wanted to kill Itachi as quickly as possible, then he would figure out what he needed to do after.

Tsunade was watching the two fight in astonishment, she had forgotten how ruthless the two were. The two boys were like chalk and cheese, completely different people, but they were definitely similar in the sense of their strengths now. That was for certain. Tsunade could feel the coolness of the chakra from Sasuke, while Naruto’s was warm with a dark underlying presence. The kyuubi, no doubt.

“Naruto, Sasuke,” the older woman sighed, “Shut up, and wait.”

A gentle knock was heard at the door, and both boys tore their attention to the sound.

And then, the door opened.

.

.

.

Sakura wasn’t sure what to expect, but it _definitely_ wasn’t this. In front of her stood the two younger boys that she remembered fondly from the team seven days. Her eyes fell onto Naruto first - his hair was scraggier than it was when he got older, and blue and orange stood out the most for him. His eyes were the same gentle but confident blue that she remembered. He looked shocked to see her, his mouth agape. She was sure she had the same expression on her own face.

And then her eyes fell on… _him_.

Sasuke was wearing his blue hooded shirt, with the usual bandages around his arms. His hair was formed in spikes up the back, and he was smaller than what she had remembered. His dark eyes were as smouldering as always, and dangerous… _definitely_. This was the younger Sasuke who had yet to commit any of the atrocities that she had heard of. And had dealt upon her. This was the younger boy that was wrapped up in revenge, but still gave a damn about his teammates. Sakura had always wondered if he had originally left to protect them too… that she wouldn’t be surprised of.

“What the _hell_?” Naruto barked, “Why do you look so _old_? But like _hot_?”

The two boys were looking at her as if she was an alien, and Sakura understood the feeling well. This was… _weird_. She knew they were not the same Sasuke and Naruto that she had last seen, no. These _were_ the younger ones. They were weaker, and smaller and just - even their chakra felt different. Even if it was only slight on Naruto’s end, but Sasuke’s… it was dark and cold.

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her brow, “I don’t even know where to begin…” her attention fell onto Sakura, “Kakashi is currently in a meeting, so he won’t be here for a while…”

“They’re not from this time, shishou?” Sakura asked, her eyes not leaving the two, “What…?”

Sasuke seemed to come to this realization too, but Naruto yelled out, “What? _How_!? All we were doing was fighting in the Valley of the End, and I don’t know _how_ \--”

The two women looked at one another, “The clash of rasengan and chidori?” Tsunade said softly, looking at the boys for their agreement.

Naruto nodded, while the younger Uchiha watched on sourly.

“That’s… weird,” Sakura said softly.

.

.

.

Sakura looked completely different. She was older, curvier and her hair was longer, kept back in a loose pony-tail. This woman was… _beautiful_ , even Sasuke had to admit. Her lips painted with a light shade of red. Her eyes did not really meet his… however, and that made him uncomfortable. The boy did not understand what was going on, other than the time travel part. How far ahead were they? Was Itachi dead?

The latter question was ringing in his head. Where was his older self now? Was he powerful? If Itachi was dead, then yes… he was. But he didn’t have the answer for that yet. He made the mental note to ask later on, but for now, he needed information on how to get back. He still had his goals in the past that still needed to be completed, and for that… he needed to _go back._

The two women talked to each-other quietly, which annoyed Sasuke. They were doing this on purpose, and the two boys were still very far in the dark. What year was it? How old were they in this timeline?

Naruto had hopped out of bed at this point, “Hey, c’mon! This involves us too! What’s going on?” he whined interrupting the two women.

Within seconds but, Sakura had engulfed the blond in a tight hug which made Naruto squeak. He did hug her back however, but he didn’t understand why she was hugging him so tightly.

Sasuke pursed his lips, watching in irritation, he was sure he was also about to get the same attention. However, when Sakura dropped the hug and kissed Naruto on the cheek, she look his way sadly. But didn’t come close. This… was weird. Sakura was weird in this timeline, Sasuke decided. He was used to being the centre of attention when it came to her, and this was just… _weird_. He didn’t really know what else to say about it.

“Hey, Sakura-chan! Are you okay?”

She had covered her face with her palm at this point, and the light shake let Sasuke know that the woman was crying. Why was she upset? What could be upsetting her at this time? It was odd.

Tsunade patted her student on the back before her attention fell onto both boys, “Well… we should probably begin explaining some things to you both. First, the Sasuke of this time haven’t been seen in over a decade in this village. Naruto was… killed in the Valley of the End twelve years ago…” Tsunade’s expression became dull and sad, reminiscing on the boy that was killed by the dark avenger.

“ ** _What_**!?” Naruto shouted, obviously surprised by all of this, “You _killed_ me!?”

Sasuke would have covered his ears if he could, instead he just gave the hyperactive boy a feral look. He… wasn’t sure himself, really. Even with the fight with Naruto just now, he wouldn’t have brought himself to end Naruto’s life. Why did his elder self do it? Was it for the power of the mangekyou sharingan? He stayed silent, not wanting to give his feelings away on the matter, just eyeing Naruto wearily.

The roseate hummed softly, “After that… well, one by one the villages have all slowly went down under Sasuke’s rule - and their groups’, by extension. From what our scouts have gathered, their group - Taka - have been pillaging them, and taking all _their_ resources. They’re a powerful group of war criminals… we’re in war at this moment. Uchiha Obito is also apart of that group.”

‘ _Another Uchiha - what? And war?’_ Sasuke was perplexed. This was wrong. All of this. While he normally wouldn’t care what would happen to others, this was _bad_. The world was being destroyed by his future self at this moment, and his rag-tag group of criminals. The Uchiha avenger swallowed, looking at his hands now, unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

Tsunade spoke now, “There’s many more things that are going on, but for the moment,” she clicked her fingers, and the bounding around Sasuke evaporated, “We should find somewhere else to speak for now,” her attention was on her previous student, “Would your house be okay? She’s not home, right?”

The roseate nodded her head, “Yeah… she should be at the academy, I’m sure it’ll be fine for now. Just for an hour, however.”

The raven-haired boy’s head tilted at this.

.

.

.

Sakura’s home was beautiful. That was the best way to put it. It was decorated in pastel colours, and while it was a bit bright for his liking, it was definitely Sakura. She had prepared everyone a cup of tea, and was finishing up in the kitchen now. Sasuke’s dark eyes focused on his hands, flexing his fingers before stretching his arms. He was happy to be out of his bindings, but he was surprised that they had let him out rather easily… maybe it was because between both Sakura and Tsunade, they would easily be able to stop him. While Sakura had not shown anything, it was clear that she was a lot stronger now.

Like her former teacher, she had a small diamond in the centre of her forehead that, from what Sasuke had been told, assisted in both strength and healing. She was a medical shinobi now, and was _surviving._ Very well, it seemed. Her house was maybe three bedrooms, with one definite bathroom. It was quite large and just a little outside of the main centre of town. It was actually bordering on the Uchiha district… which did make Sasuke frown when they were headed that way.

He couldn’t find himself to continue to be offended, however.

Taking a sip of the warm, black tea made him feel a little bit better.

Sakura re-entered the room and sat down next to Naruto. Tsunade had left moments ago, saying that she was going to inform Kakashi of what was going on, and that he needed to be here. Kakashi, from what Sakura had explained, was now the Hokage. That had shocked both himself and Naruto.

_(“Before you died, Naruto, we were going to announce to you that you would be the next Hokage in a few years. Kakashi would begin training you immediately.”)_

Sasuke took a heavy breath. It… was sad.

“I think… what will be going down, is that we will need to figure out what exactly caused your leap in time,” Sakura said, humming as she sipped her green tea, “I don’t know too much about that sort of thing, and I don’t think it’s really been documented… except for that one time that Naruto got sent back in time, but that was different again.”

Naruto blinked, “I - _what_?”

Sakura laughed dryly, “Yeah, it was funny actually.”

Her expression changed for a moment, before turning into a heavy scowl. She stood up abruptly, and wandered out into the hallway, towards the entrance of the house.

“ _Sarada_! I know you’re in here,” she said harshly.

‘ _Sarada_?’

In seconds, a girl with dark hair and red glasses appeared in front of the table. Her brows forming into a scowl. “Who are these people, mama?”

Sasuke blinked a few times before the girl seemed to realise something, and her eyes bled to… _red_?


	3. Parentage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the chapter where the warning comes in. It is by now means graphic in the sense of how I have seen some stories play out, but please be warned. This will be the only chapter where this occurs, however.

Sakura was annoyed, beyond _peeved_. Her daughter was meant to be on a mission, but no - she decides today was the greatest day to be skipping. Now, she has to explain this situation to both her and the two boys. And _how_ was she even meant to do that? She was sure that it would come out while they were looking for what they needed to get these two back, but… _not now_. She glared at her daughter heavily, but the girl as focusing on Sasuke. Sarada was a smart girl, of course she would piece it together - considering she would know who Naruto was. The kid wasn’t Boruto, after all.

Sarada, in seconds, had slammed Sasuke against the wall with her strength, as Sasuke’s own kekkei genkai rose to the surface, “ _You_! How dare you come here in this form!” the girl pushed him closer against the wall, and Sakura heard a crack.

She ducked forward to stop her daughter from killing her father, “Sarada-chan, stop.”

The young girl slumped, letting Sasuke go, without giving him a final shove, “Mama - why are they here? _What_ is going on? Is this some sort of twisted joke?”

“Sweetheart,” she said soothingly, “Please go and talk to Boruto for the moment, I need to sort out a couple of things,” Sarada opened her mouth to object, “ _No_. You’re not staying. But I _promise_ I’ll tell you everything over dinner, okay? I just need a moment with Naruto and… Sasuke.”

Sarada pouted her lips before deactivating her kekkei genkai, and Sasuke allowed his own to fade. ‘ _Have I and Sakura…?_ ’ It… made sense, but why wouldn’t his older self be here and supporting them both. Instead, he was out and trying to take over the world it seemed. Still, he figured that she would have been the one that would bear his child.

The girl growled before making her way out of the house, slamming the door on her way out.

Silence fell over the three.

“Whoa… is that your kid?” Naruto broke the silence, almost stupidly.

Sakura nodded, “Yep. Sarada-chan. She’s… a good kid normally. I’m surprised she came home now. Unless they got dismissed easily… worst of all days to be doing this. I… would have said something,” this was more towards Sasuke, who she was still not looking in the eye, “but I didn’t want to overload you both with information.”

“ _Wow!_ Sasuke-teme of all people has a kid, a cute one too,” Naruto said, grinning. “Congrats, Sakura!”

Sasuke nearly slapped him upside the head for the comment.

So… the sharingan did get passed on too. And the girl was strong, his body could feel that. She could have crushed him if she wanted. However, the glasses? Bad eyesight? He wondered why. The Uchiha hardly ever had bad eyesight, but he supposed that they did normally keep their couplings in the clan originally to keep the sharingan as pure as possible.

Still, his eyes flickered to Sakura who was looking at her feet. Was this why she was ignoring him? Not talking to him as much? Was it because he had seemingly abandoned her and her child? That… wasn’t his way. Nor was it the Uchiha way. Something had seriously gone wrong with his future self, that was for sure. The Uchiha took a heavy breath and took his attention away from her for the moment.

“You also have a rather cute kid, Naruto,” Sakura chided, grinning happily at the information.

“ _Excuse me, what_!?”

Sasuke huffed.

.

.

.

Sakura rested against the cabinet behind her. “Sasuke, I need to speak to you about something.”

‘ _It’s better that he knows… he needs to understand what he becomes… Maybe something can be changed in him. I hope._ ’

.

.

.

Sasuke blinked at her, she was finally focusing on him for real. Her eyes were… hurt. A lot of hurt. Pain. It was something he was very used to. It was all he had felt when his clan had been destroyed before him, and then watching it in his head? Agony. What had harmed her this much? He supposed it was him, considering her attention was on him. But that look had faded quickly, as her attention fell onto Naruto once more.

The Uchiha nodded his head to what she had said. He needed to figure out what was going on, particularly with her. It must have been something extremely bad.

.

.

.

“You _liar_!” Tsunade accused, pointing a manicured finger at the current Hokage who was sitting up and reading his usual orange book.

The masked shinobi grinned beneath his mask, “Hey, I said _I_ was in a meeting. Technically, I wasn’t lying.”

Sure, sending his clone to a meeting probably wasn’t the greatest idea, but sometimes one needs a day off. Kakashi was feeling particularly lax today, and today was a hot and sticky day. He didn’t want to be in and out of meetings all day. Kakashi was just _bored_.

Tsunade huffed before pinching the bridge of her nose, “Well, you _really_ need to know this one, Kakashi.”

It had been a while since Tsunade had looked this serious, even with what was going on around them. It had been a moment of peace, nothing had come into the Country of Fire, which means Sasuke and his goons weren’t around for the moment. Kakashi was allowed to relax every now and again, but definitely do not be mistaking his laxness for lack of attention. His eyes narrowed, and ‘Kakashi the Hokage’ not ‘Kakashi the pervert’ was in full effect.

“Explain.”

The blonde crossed her arms, “Well, Uzumaki Naruto is back from the dead…” she paused, “And Uchiha Sasuke has returned.”

Kakashi already had an idea of what he was going to do to Sasuke, but Naruto? Where had Naruto been all this time? When he had left at eighteen, he was due to become the next Hokage. He had wanted to bring Sasuke back, or to put him down for good. That was the last of his goals outside of being Hokage. Kakashi still remembers the happy grin that Naruto had given him, and the confident thumbs up.

Instead, he found his body where the boys had clearly fought. That was an image he would never get out of his head.

The Hokage had believed that his students would be back, and if Sasuke had to be put down… then so be it. It was better, at that point. But Kakashi now regrets highly of letting Naruto go. He should have told him to let it go, or have gone with him. Maybe, if Kakashi had gone, what’s happening now wouldn’t have happened. The silver-haired man sighed.

( _She was in tatters, clothing torn off her and shivering. She was bleeding from between her legs, with_ other _liquid flowing from her... This wasn’t good. He quickly covered her with his cloak and pulled her close, her sticky blood and sweat attaching to him. She wailed in his arms, pink knotted hair tickling his chin._

_(“Sensei…” she wailed, “What did I do wrong?”_

_“Nothing, sweetheart,” he gently murmured, “You did nothing wrong, this wasn’t your fault…”_

_Kakashi made a mental note that he would kill_ him _the next time he saw him. Sakura didn’t deserve this, she was the last person who deserved this…_

_His ex-student was a monster, he had left her like this… Cold and alone in the dark, clearly injured from his own rough wants.)_

Her cries back then had nearly kept him up at night for a long time. It was heartbreaking. The poor girl had suffered that night. Kakashi would kill him, that was for sure. He wouldn’t get any second chances, and Sakura wouldn’t even be able to stop him at this point. He felt his own sharingan burn at the thought, the mangekyou manifesting below the mask. He was _pissed_.

Even worse when the girl found she was pregnant a month and a half later… and the bastard wasn’t there. Not that he would have known or _cared_ , he had lost himself to his own power… that was obvious. Insanity was etched into his features the last time Kakashi had seen him. He had even tried to kill Sakura. The Land of Iron was such a long time ago, but it was so clear to Kakashi. He should have ended Sasuke then.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, “Calm down, Kakashi. Breathe. I understand, but…”

‘ _No, you really don’t. You didn’t see her. All you know is that they had met up at some point, not that Sakura was fucking raped._ ’

She had been ashamed to even try and tell Tsunade, her own teacher. She didn’t even want Kakashi to know, but he was the only person that she trusted with this. Even Naruto at the time didn’t have a clue.

Still, Kakashi took a heavy breath – albeit shaky from his violent anger. He needed to _think_ , and see what was going on.

“You see, this isn’t the Naruto and Sasuke that you would be expecting,” Tsunade started, “They’re not from this time.”

‘ _What?_ **_How_**?’

The blonde continue, “They’re twelve years old… We thought it could have been a genjutsu, but no… it’s something else entirely. It’s actually them. They’re at Sakura’s now.”

Frowning, Kakashi tightened his fists, “You left them alone with her? What are you thinking?”

Before vanishing, Kakashi caught the look of astonishment on the former Hokage’s face. While Kakashi did respect the woman, she didn’t always think these matters through. Although, he knew that deep down, that she didn’t know what had occurred between Sakura and the missing-nin that plagues the world now. However, his own anger kept him from saying anything to her – that and Sakura’s tearful cries to not tell anyone.

.

.

.

“Naruto,” Sakura said coolly, tapping her index nervously against the porcelain table, “Can you… leave for a moment…” she noticed Naruto’s look of dismay of being left out – ‘ _Trust me, Naruto… this isn’t something that you’ll want to hear.’_ “I need to speak to Sasuke-kun about something. In private.”

The blond huffed irately, before marching his way up the stairs. He ducked his head down, “I won’t be gone long, okay!?”

Boisterous as always, he stomped upstairs before seemingly finding himself in one the rooms upstairs.

Her emerald eyes flickered over to the second last of the Uchiha. He seemed almost nervous, as if he felt the heavy burden of what he was about to be told. Sakura didn’t even know how to _begin_ to tell Sasuke about Sarada’s conception – does she tell him in detail or just _say it_? She lived that time nearly every night currently, the nightmares were brutal and she was _afraid_ that Sasuke – the Sasuke of her time – would come for her. He had _promised_ that, but never seemed to keep it.

‘ _Sasuke keeps his promises._ ’

“What is it? You mentioned that you had something to tell me…” Sasuke trailed off, his dark eyes hyper focused on her green nails. They were slightly chipped, but were a brilliant colour.

She swallowed.

( _“Stay still!” he snarled, biting into her in an animalistic sense, “This is what you’ve always wanted, wasn’t it?”_

_Her cries filled her own years as she gasped out, “N—No! Not like this, Sasuke-kun—please!”_

_She continued struggling, but she couldn’t escape his strong grip or escape from the spinning mangekyou sharingan. He snarled, gripping into her violently.)_

“It’s… about how Sarada came to be,” she murmured, leaning heavily into her chair now, unable to keep his gaze (not that she had been able to – she was somewhat afraid of him, even though he wasn’t the Sasuke who had harmed her), “I… we, after what had transpired in the Land of Iron… after you killed Danzou… I was on my own…” she said, her voice shaky.

.

.

.

‘ _Where is she going with this?_ ’ Sasuke mused to himself, anxiety filling his chest and making it hard to breathe – was this why she was different with him? Something had scarred her, that was for sure.

Sasuke swallowed his anxiety away, “We met?”

“… Yes.”

“What happened…?”

Sakura covered her eyes with her hand, hiding her expression from view. Sasuke found himself standing up to comfort her (odd), but he decidedly stayed put, just outside of his chair. Now was not the time…

“We…”

( _Her clothes were long gone, and she opened her mouth to scream a ‘No!’, but he covered her mouth harshly with his own, as he positioned himself. She struggled, unable to gather chakra into her hands – ‘_ Please no – Please no!’ _– only for him to slam brutally into her._

 _Her screech echoed throughout the forest, heartbroken as he continued to defile her further._ )

“I found you… or you found me,” she said softly, “I… I don’t know… why you did what you did then, but…”

Sasuke’s eyes flickered to red as his emotions bubbled under the surface, thoughts running through his head. He was being bashed by his own thoughts, haunted. He knew, but how could he _say it_. This was why she was avoiding him, even if it was only slightly. He was always used to always having her attention, but this was _wrong_. Why would he do such a thing?

“I… don’t think you were in your right mind,” she murmured, ever so slightly, “It was… You tried to not, but I… I think your own desires stopped you from… stopping. And I…” a broken sob escaped her lips, “I couldn’t stop you.”

He _raped_ her. The very girl that he had always tried to protect. But… he was the monster. Not anyone else, he couldn’t protect her from himself. He was too evil. That was for sure.

Sasuke barely had time to register his own thoughts, as nausea bubbled in his stomach, but he was – like before – pinned with a chokehold. Black and red met his own features. The mismatched eyes of Hatake Kakashi. The older man’s other hand roared with the Raikiri, but Sakura must have gotten the other man off of him before Kakashi could land the final blow.

.

.

.

“Sensei – please!”

“I _found_ her like that! After you did that to her!” Kakashi roared, anger spilling out from _years_ of guilt and heartache for his female student.

( _He had always thought she was the most annoying out of the bunch, including Naruto. She was so weak… but he regretted never teaching her more or giving her more attention when she was younger – and even as she got older. It was always about Naruto or Sasuke. Never about **Sakura**._)

The copy-nin kept his distance for a moment, out of respect for Sakura – indeed – this boy was not the Sasuke that had left Sakura in the forest, pillaged and destroyed. No, but he would eventually become him. There was no way out of the Uchiha’s curse – his anger and hatred finally turned him into a monster who only cared about vengeance, for something that no longer existed, and went against his brother’s wishes. The very brother that Sasuke had wanted to once kill, who then became his ‘reason’ for wanting to take over _everything_ and destroy the Leaf from the inside and out.

Kakashi hated the boy, regretted ever teaching him. He should have focused on Sakura or Naruto, but the boy reminded him so much of himself. His regrets were so long, that his own hatred for himself possibly outranked what he felt for Sasuke.

( _“Kakashi-sensei,” she snivelled, wiping her eyes, “I’m **pregnant**.”_

 _‘_ You just had to go further than this, Sasuke,’ _the older man mused stormily._

 _He found his arms wrapped around the younger woman as she screamed silently. He would support her as well as he could, and they would sort **something** out._)

The sharingan morphed into his mangekyou, and Sasuke’s eyes widened in surprise, no doubt having not known of his abilities. The mangekyou was always taxing to use, but if it rid Sasuke of the world, then…

“ _Stop it_!” Sakura growled, half-heartedly slapping her teacher, “This _isn’t_ him.”

.

.

.

Sasuke found himself on the floor, the burden of what he has just found out weighing heavily on his mind. The nausea in his stomach was still there, and it took him everything to not violently puke onto her clean floor.

He tried to imagine in what situation he would –

( _“Ne, Sasuke-kun, you did really well today, I think,” she hummed softly, giving him a vibrant grin._

_He didn’t really say much, but he agreed. His fire jutsu was becoming stronger the more he used and experimented with different techniques. That and the chidori was a great new tool in his arsenal. He was very thankful to Kakashi for teaching him such an ability._

_His dark eyes flickered onto her, who was quietly eating her ramen as Naruto was carrying on about his own achievements today._

_This was… nice._ )

‘ _No… never._ ’

Sasuke’s eyes flickered onto his old teacher. He had… aged. Wrinkles beneath his eyes, but everything else was hidden behind his mask. His hair was shorter, and his clothing was now ebony rather than the military greens he had been used to.

“Give me _one_ reason to not kill him now, Sakura,” Kakashi snarled, focusing on his student, “Why do you continue to protect him, after everything?”

Sakura rubbed her eyes, glaring at her teacher defiantly, “Because without him I wouldn’t have my daughter! Don’t you _dare_ take her from me, Kakashi!” she snapped.

.

( _Kakashi was second to hold the little girl. He had not been happy throughout Sakura’s pregnancy, and her unwillingness just to_ abort _. But as soon as his eye made contact with the little girl’s…_

_Well._

_He was smitten. She was pure. She looked a lot like her mother, but had her father’s colourings – slightly tanner skin, and dark eyes with a shaggy patch of black hair._

_She was beautiful._

_He would protect her. The both of them._ )

Kakashi exhaled.

He had forgotten about the little girl that he had practically helped Sakura raise. It was only for his own respect of the Uchiha clan that he had taught Sarada about her sharingan and all of the jutsu that were to be learned by the Uchiha traditionally. She… was different to her father. A lot like her mother. She had her moments, but Sarada was not evil.

She was a genius as well. She picked things up quickly.

But she _cared_ for everyone around her. She wanted to become Hokage one day. And he would help her get to her goal as well as he could. He was her mentor, her trainer, her protector… He wanted to do right by this girl, and maybe one day he would forgive himself for his own short-comings.

Sarada deserved to live.

But Sasuke… Sasuke definitely didn’t.

.

.

.

When Kakashi finally seemed to relax, albeit still on guard, Sakura sighed. She wiped away her remaining tears. Kakashi just wanted to do right by her, that she knew. However, Sakura adored Sarada, even if her conception was not… what she had wanted. Sarada was, on the other hand, what she wanted – what she needed. Her little girl was so _pure_ and _good_.

She cared about her teammates and would throw away her life without a heartbeat. She was a new start to the Uchiha.

“Sakura, I –“ Sasuke opened his mouth.

“No. Don’t say it,” Sakura said, “C… Can I speak to Kakashi-sensei, just for a moment?”

She watched as Sasuke nodded his head, his eyes wearily watching his once-teacher. He was intimidated by the current Hokage, that was for sure. Sakura couldn’t blame him.

.

.

.

Sasuke made his way up the stairs, feeling heavy and _disgusting_. He could just end his own life now and everything wouldn’t be so _fucked_ , but he still had to kill his brother. He wasn’t sure if that was selfish or not, but Itachi needed to be put down for his crimes – but so should Sasuke? He didn’t know how to feel – how he should feel. It irked him, a lot.

“Sasuke-teme,” Naruto whined, opening the door when he heard approaching footsteps, “You guys took _ages_! And what was the racket with downstairs—“

The dark Uchiha leaned against the wall before sliding down, dragging up his knees and covering his head. Naruto seemed to be surprised, but offended that Sasuke didn’t answer him and kicked him softly against his foot. Sasuke didn’t really make any motions to answer at all. He needed to think about this – maybe take his frustrations out on a tree, or _something_.

Was it his right to even tell Naruto?

He took a heavy breath before looking up at the blond ninja, who seemed to now have a bit of a worried expression on his face. The younger boy knelt down to eye level.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked softly, his usual obnoxious voice almost as quiet as a mouse, “Normally, you would have snarled something rude at me for kicking you – even gently.”

‘ _I… need to talk to someone about this… and Naruto probably is the only one here._ ’

His mouth felt dry, “I… I raped Sakura.”

It was the first time he had said it audibly, without it being spelled out or implied or just straight up _said_ to him by Kakashi.

Naruto’s eyes went wide before he sputtered out, “N—No way! You wouldn’t do that to Sakura-chan!”

“But I did.”

He paused.

“… Are you sure? Did she tell you this?”

Sasuke nodded.

The Uzumaki let out a shaky breath, “I… You wouldn’t do that now?”

Giving him a look, Naruto nodded. The younger boy stood up straight and seemed to think to himself for a moment. Sasuke watched silently as Naruto’s face registered a few different expressions.

“I… Then stay that way, yeah? We need to change things… this can’t be how things work out, right?”

Sasuke let out, “I agree. We… need to do something about this.”

Naruto was most likely dead, and Sasuke had hurt Sakura in the worst way he possibly could. The Uchiha needed to change things, badly. He was sure that he would always hate himself deep down for having even _gone so low_. Had Sasuke killed Naruto for power? Why had he harmed Sakura in such a way…?

(“ _You didn’t seem like you were in the right mind…_ ”)

Was that really an excuse though?


	4. Inheritance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably one of my favourite chapters, honestly. I like how it flows, personally. It does change a lot from the original story, but... well. You'll see. Please forgive any grammatical mistakes that you may see going forward. Thank you for the lovely comments I have received so far. This is updated early, due to me being a bit busy tomorrow. Next chapter should be out on the 31st, as I should not be as busy tomorrow.

Sasuke had found himself in the Uchiha estate, back at his own house. Naruto was by his side, having told him that they should stick together with everything that is going on. In a way, Sasuke was glad to have the orange-clad shinobi with him; it would be a distraction from the thoughts that stirred in his head. He had not yet had the time to sit down and think of what he was going to do. He _could_ end his own life, but Itachi was still a menace and he knew that Sakura herself would be disappointed as she would lose her daughter (but does that even matter now?). Sasuke had a lot to answer for, that he knew. Kakashi was hellbent on killing him, and it was only due to Sakura that Kakashi had stopped.

Sarada…

Sasuke had seen the girl for only a few moments and she was… well. Amazing, really. He was sure that she was stronger than him, and he was certain they were around the same age. And she already had her sharingan! Interesting, for sure. Sasuke had not been able to ask about the girl, but he made a mental note to ask Sakura or… Kakashi.

Kakashi and Sakura had an odd relationship. Like, parental, almost. Kakashi held a lot of respect for Sakura, and that surprised Sasuke to an extent. Kakashi, while he had never badmouthed Sakura, had made it clear that he thought she was the weak link in the team, even before Naruto. It did annoy Sasuke to a point, but it had not been his business. Sakura needed to improve and she – well, did. She had gotten stronger with his and Naruto’s absence. She was probably one of the most powerful shinobi now, he gathered.

Sasuke opened the main door the manor, and took in the sight that the place had been defiled. Graffiti of crude words insulting the Uchiha and himself smeared the walls, with the once expensive furniture either having been looted or destroyed. The locks should have held, but he supposed that with enough force, people could force their way in. That, and the smashed windows. Naruto had been silent for a while, which was nice for Sasuke, but it made him think that Naruto was actually thinking for once.

The boys wandered into what was the lounge room, again, everything destroyed. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. They could not really stay here. He was also sure that Kakashi would not hand them any funds in order to fix _some_ things. But what about the Uchiha inheritance? Surely, he still had access to that. Sasuke would have to speak to Kakashi about that. He had always had access to it when he was younger – if he had not been so _liked_ upon the female population, he was sure that he would have gotten shit for being the ‘rich kid’.

“Ne, Sasuke,” Naruto started, looking around, “No offense, but I don’t think we can stay here…”

Sasuke nodded.

Maybe they _could_ clean up a bit, and make a spot in the lounge for some futons for a bit. Yeah, that was an idea.

“We can clean up, come on.”

Naruto groaned at the mention of ‘cleaning up’. Sasuke knew that Naruto was lazy, but it would be worth it in the sense that they would be able to relax and talk amongst themselves without as _much_ surveillance on them. That would be a good thing to have. He was sure that they were being watched by ANBU, but… It was better than nothing.

Sasuke nodded his head, beckoning for Naruto to follow him.

.

.

.

They finally found a room with _no_ smashed windows – the sun room. It had a lot of windows, and Sasuke was surprised that the vandals had not destroyed it. There was still crude words on the windows, but they weren’t smashed, and there was a lock on the door if needed. Naruto was humming as he swept up the remnants of dust and dirt, and scooped it into a black trash bag.

The two heard a knock at the door, and Naruto ran out to see who was here. After a moment of soft murmurs, Kakashi appeared in the room with Naruto. Sasuke stilled, stepping back slightly, watching the man curiously to see what he would do without Sakura here. He was holding two paper bags, and set them down on the newly cleaned counter. Kakashi looked around, nodding to himself before his eyes focused on Naruto. ‘ _Ah._ ’ There would be no talking between Sasuke and Kakashi. Sasuke couldn’t blame him. The anger that he had seen earlier that day was fair, and Sasuke could not blame him for the anger that was still barrelling out Kakashi’s body in slight chakra spikes.

“Well, if you both are wanting to wander around the village, you’ll need to conceal your identities,” he opened the bag and showed various clothing articles, tags on them to show that they had been bought recently.

One of the clothing items was all orange, and Sasuke groaned. That was for Naruto, for sure. Two black masks, no doubt from Kakashi’s collection as they were the only things without tags. Also, no Uchiha fan on the back of any of it. Sasuke was glad, he did not want to be recognised at all. And he was assuming, neither did the current Hokage. Naruto grinned with glee and picked up the orange jacket, that came with a set of black pants with orange stripes along the lining. Sasuke’s own outfit for their hiding was one that was black with white trimmings at the edges and dark blue pants. There was a slightly higher collar than what he was used to, but he would deal.

Kakashi’s eyes flickered on Sasuke, “Because of your hair, you’ll have to cover it. There’s a beanie in this pile as well.”

Sasuke nodded thankfully.

The Uchiha’s thoughts flickered onto their bedding arrangement – the couch that was once in here had been pissed on, and stunk quite bad so the boys had dragged it out. The rest of the beds were either torn into, or also had piss and other bodily fluids on them. Sasuke did not want to think further about it. ‘ _Gross_.’

“Is there any chance I can have access to my inheritance?”

Naruto blinked, his eyes flickering onto Kakashi who stilled slightly. The grey-haired man sighed before leaning against the graffiti marked walls. “Long answer is… no. You’ll have to speak to Sakura about it, she has it now.”

Of… course. That made sense. Sarada was the closest to an Uchiha in this village. She would have gotten the funds. That also explains the lovely house that Sakura has. Sasuke frowned slightly; this had been what had supported Sakura. So in a way, his dead family did help her. Sasuke was sure that whoever was Hokage at the time had to jump through a lot of hoops in order to award it to Sakura, as Sarada would not have been declared the _official_ heir. He was also sure that Sarada did not carry his name either, but her sharingan was enough proof of her birth right. He was happy that Sakura had the money, but he felt guilty about having to ask her about some funds in order to buy food and some basic bedding.

Sasuke groaned. He already did not want to speak to Sakura for the moment, as he just – well, did not know what to say to her. Would she be offended? The only cash he had on hand was probably enough for he and Naruto to buy dinner for the night. Yes, he was going to shout Naruto food – and no, he did not want to talk about it.

Kakashi folded his arms, “What exactly do you need it for? Even if it wasn’t with her, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

 _True_.

“I wanted to buy some bedding for Naruto and myself, and some other things for around here. Not too much, but yeah…”

Naruto grinned at the thought of getting new bedding. He had not had any new bedding in a long time, the payout from missions was enough to get by, but not enough to buy fancy new _beds_. Naruto almost snickered at the thought of sleeping on a lavish new bed. Although… with it being Sakura’s money now, Naruto was sure that Sasuke would want to spend as little of it as he could. Still, he was surprised by Sasuke reaction – more like, _lack_ of reaction of the funds being with Sakura now.

The Hokage sighed, “I’ll talk to her, and I’ll let you know.”

As he said that, the man disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke released his breath. He wouldn’t have to speak to Sakura for the moment. Part of him wanted to apologise – who was he kidding, he _would_. He had hurt her. Big time. If he could stop his future self from doing what he did, he would. But he had no affect on _that_ Sasuke, so there was not much he could do. Would an apology even much from _him_? Still… Sasuke knew he owed her that much, even if he did never really apologise to _anyone._

.

.

.

Kakashi knocked on the door to Sakura’s home, with Sarada opening the door. The girl grinned and quickly hugged the grey-haired Hokage. Kakashi wholeheartedly hugged the girl back. He and Sarada had a close relationship; he had been her mentor, as well as being there as a father figure for the little girl. She would often come to him with problems that she could not voice to Sakura, in case she would get into trouble. He could not blame the young girl, as Sakura _could_ be overbearing at times – she was very worried about her young daughter.

“Is your mama home?” Kakashi asked, letting go of the girl.

Sarada nodded, glancing down the hall, into the kitchen, “Yeah, she’s just cooking some supper. Are you here for that as well?” her smile reappeared, no doubt wanting to have some time with Kakashi.

“Not today, kiddo,” Kakashi said, stepping past her to get to the kitchen.

Sarada followed along.

“Sakura?”

The young woman was standing over the stove, mixing together some sweet concoction in a bowl, she turned around with the bowl still being mixed and flashed Kakashi a strained smile. Sakura had been through a lot today. She had seen the father of her child who had defiled her, before he had even gotten to that point. Kakashi had been irritated when Sasuke had asked about his inheritance –

( _The man watched wearily as Kakashi handed him papers, this would be to confirm that Sakura now has access to the funds of the Uchiha. His dark eyes flickered over to the candle, and Kakashi knew that the man was willing to do this. However… many things had changed since the last time they had seen each other on the battlefield._

_“You will still have access, don’t worry,” Kakashi said softly, his respect for this man, having known his secrets came through in his voice._

_He grunted, “I don’t care for the money, I just fear what will happen when this gets out…”_

_The silver-haired Hokage nodded, “I understand… but this is better for the two of them. I’m sure you agree. It will be hard for her to raise a child on her own, particularly an Uchiha…”_

_The hooded man agreed, nodding._

_He leaned forward and quickly signed the parchment; he was head of the Uchiha, he could do what he wanted with the funds that had been stored away for a long time. They deserved to go to this woman. She was one of them now, as was her daughter – even if their last names were not the same._ )

Kakashi had understood though, that Sasuke needed some access so that he could buy what they need in order to wait comfortably for them to be sent back to their own time period. Still, Kakashi had to speak to both of the boys about what happened, and have Shikamaru by his side in order to work out the kinks. Still… Kakashi had yet to decide if he will allow them to return with their memories in tact, or to wipe them and just allow things to happen as they are now. It was a hard decision, as Sasuke could always turn, and end up killing Naruto once more.

( _He was too late. Naruto’s body was floating in the water of the Valley of the End. His chakra long gone, and burns grazed his body –_ Chidori _. The very attack that Kakashi had shown his once-pupil. Sasuke had destroyed everything of Team Seven; first Sakura, and now Naruto. Sasuke needed to be put down like the sick dog he was, but Kakashi did not have the strength._

_Naruto had been the strongest, and he had destroyed Naruto, clearly. Looking around, it had been a short fight. It was almost like Sasuke took amusement out of destroying his opponent. Kakashi wished it didn’t come to this, but it did._

_He grabbed the boy’s body – only freshly eighteen – and laid him down on the soft soil, bowing his head. He would have been Hokage soon, there were already whispers of it. Kakashi would go on for another few years, and then train Naruto on what to do with this prestigious title. Instead, he was now going to be burying the boy._

_He sighed._

_Everything really went to shit. He wiped his eyes, and felt the rain drop around him with thunder in the distance. He could at least cry in peace before bringing him home for a proper burial._ )

“How are you, with everything?” Kakashi asked, not wanting to jump right into Sasuke’s request.

Sarada was in the room as well, he was sure that the girl knew what was going on to an extent. She was sitting on one of the barstools, no doubt wanting whatever it was that Sakura was making for their supper.

“I’m… as well as you could probably imagine,” Sakura said softly, blinking away.

She was in pain. He could not blame her.

Kakashi nodded, “I… understand. It’s fine, you’re allowed to be unhappy with everything that’s going on. What do you think, with Sasuke?”

Sarada glared at the mention of her estranged father. She has not an idea about her conception, but she does know that Sasuke had abandoned the both of them, and that he was the one plaguing the world with his atrocities. She was a smart kid, it was best to not lie about who her father was. That, and her sharingan was proof enough of who her father was. Sakura huffed, not wanting to talk about this directly in front of Sarada. There were a lot of things on her mind that were weighing her down, and this? This was not something that her daughter should be hearing about.

Sarada had always been weary of her parentage – she knew exactly who her father was, and was often mocked by the general populace who did not understand how she came to be. Still, even if that knowledge was open, Sakura was sure that the teasing would continue. Sakura barely got any of it, as she could backhand someone all the way down the street, and people were not dumb enough to do anything. Sarada had to be more careful, as most genin were not as powerful as she was – so, she could get into serious trouble if she decided to react. Sakura wished that this agreed upon ‘right’ was passed onto her daughter, although Sakura has said numerous times that if it gets to be too much, to feel free to react negatively (without violence, of course) or even flash the sharingan if need be. Sakura didn’t care if her daughter got into trouble for defending herself against being teased.

The girl hopped off of her seat and made her way closer to Kakashi and Sakura, “Can we not talk about him here? I don’t want to hear about that bastard.”

Sakura nodded.

Kakashi sighed, “Well, I have one more thing to say about _that bastard_ ,” he mumbled, “He’s asking if he can have some access to the inheritance in order to buy what’s needed for him and Naruto.”

In response, Sakura pursed her lips before sighing, “It is his money.”

Sarada looked on, flabbergasted, “Wait, why aren’t _you_ lending them money?”

The Hokage shrugged his shoulders, “There isn’t much money left here. A lot of our money is for the war, and… well, I just can’t afford to give rations out to someone who is well off.”

Sakura nodded in understanding, “I agree. Sure, just give me the paperwork and I’ll sign it. Or did you need _him_ to sign it again?”

Kakashi shook his head, “No, he’s… busy. I think. He was due back a couple of days ago, but I’m sure he’ll show up soon.”

( _“You’re the only one that has immunity to him,” Kakashi said in realisation, closing his ecchi book, “So that’s why you’re…”_

_“I’m no longer ill, I am at full strength once more as well,” the man said softly, “We both know that I cannot be in this village without questions being asked, particularly by people who knew me back then. Even with hiding. Besides, I’d feel better that I am doing something for Konoha, instead of sitting around, waiting for Sasuke to strike.”_

_The Hokage leaned back in his chair, resting his hand against his mask, leaning against the heavy desk. This man would be a great asset to them, particularly since Sasuke would not dare strike him. He had shown that in the past, but Kakashi wondered if that was the main reason that Sasuke had yet to attack. He had all the power in the world, and Kakashi knew that they would be decimated, even if Sasuke’s group was not the largest. Sasuke and Obito were both dangerous, and Kakashi knew that the time would come for them to come here, and he hoped that sending his ally away to investigate would not stir the pot._

_But… Kakashi had no clue what Sasuke was up to, as of now. It was too dangerous to_ not _have someone go out and see what was going on._

_“Fine, just make sure that you come here every two months so we can see what’s going on. Don’t get yourself caught or killed, Sasuke might not want you dead, but Obito will – he knows how powerful you are,” Kakashi said softly._

_The thought of his old friend being one of the main villains in the world no longer stung. That wound had long since healed, and Kakashi knew that Obito was no longer the boy that he had viewed as his closest friend. Kakashi knew that Obito would never change, neither would Sasuke. He had accepted that a long time. The Uchiha were truly cursed._

_Other… than the one beacon of hope standing in front of him._

_“Stay well, Itachi.”_ )

Sakura nodded. Itachi had helped her as well as he could with Sarada. He was the only other person who knew what had taken place between herself and Sasuke, as he had figured it out all on his own. The older Uchiha brother was gentle, much more gentle than Sakura had expected. She had been _horrified_ when he had first shown up – she had known what he had done with his clan, and she was worried he was there to finish off Sarada. But… that wasn’t it. Apparently, when Kabuto had revived all of the Akatsuki, Itachi was able to come out of his trance and was later revived by Orochimaru using a forbidden technique that had apparently been upgraded dramatically. While Orochimaru was no friend, he also knew the gravity of the situation and would help from time to time. Another thing that probably edged him over to ‘their side’ was that Sasuke was no doubt hunting him down as well, he probably was looking for any way to slither away.

Since then, Itachi has been shadowing Sasuke and his group, and sending back what he knew of their plans. Itachi was sure that Sasuke had yet to catch on to his reappearance in life. Sakura knew what had happened with the massacre, and felt horrible for Itachi who wanted nothing more than to protect the village. He had been spying on the Akatsuki back then, too. He was a good man who got wrapped into evil by actions that were not even of his own want, but he understood what he needed to do. The Uchiha were going to turn on the village, and Itachi knew that he had to choose either the village or his clan.

Itachi was too good for his own good sometimes, Sakura gathered. The man was selfless, and powerful all wrapped in an Uchiha form. Itachi was probably the only person that could stop Sasuke now, but Kakashi was not willing to sacrifice his ace to stop Sasuke at this point, as if Itachi died, they would all die. There were whisperings that Sasuke knows that Itachi lives, but… he doesn’t know that he is being shadowed by his older brother.

“Okay, well, if you have the paperwork ready, I’ll sign it.”

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.

.

Sasuke found himself resting outside, the sun had long set, and he had yet to provide any bedding for himself or Naruto. He hoped some of the stores would still be open, but if worst came to worst, they could sleep on the ground for the time being. Stores with food, however, would still be open. Sasuke heard a popping noise to the left, and saw that Kakashi had reappeared. He had taken his time. He tossed a bag to Sasuke, filled with money.

“That should do, shouldn’t it?” Kakashi asked, although it was rhetorical.

The Uchiha nodded, “Yeah.”

No thank-yous as always. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

The Uchiha headed back inside to let Naruto know that they have access to food now, the jinchuuriki had been complaining for a while now. Even Sasuke was starting to feel the sting of hunger.


	5. Family Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a day late, since I'm an idiot. Still, enjoy folks.

It had been a rough night’s worth of sleep. Sasuke had slept on the floor, while Naruto had found an old ratty sheet to sleep on the couch. He had complained of the smell, but still fell asleep, with loud snoring. Now, Sasuke regrets having them sleep in the same room. The boy stretched, seeing the sun rise over the trees surrounding the compound. He picked up his clothing, and found his way into another room to change. He avoided the glass as he was barefooted for the moment, but that was one of the first things he put on, his nose scrunching in disgust upon stepping upon the filthy floor. He might have to use the lake nearby to bathe, as water wouldn’t run. Luckily, they had electricity.

Today, he would head out with Naruto and get some futons. That was one of his main priorities for the moment. He also wanted to speak to Sakura, having been able to think on what he could say to her, and to make promises that things won’t end this way. He was already set that he would not become the monster that his future self had become. Still… He still needed to track down Itachi and end him, before they posed a threat to what he knows now will be his future family. Sarada would no doubt be hunted by that bastard.

Sasuke decided that while Naruto was sleeping, to head out and see Sakura. He placed the mask over his head, luckily it was clean, and headed out the door towards her apartment.

.

.

.

By the time he had arrived, he saw the lights on within the house. Either her or her young daughter were awake. Still, the thought of Sarada existing was… something else. While the boy did not know what to think at this point, one thing for sure was that he needed to figure out _what_ to do with the girl. He was sure that Sakura still wanted the girl to exist, but was it fair on her to do that? He would need to figure out a few things, including her birth date and what not. He made his way up the stairs, glanced in through the window. Talking to her, was a man who was heavily hooded. He was holding a cup, and was slowly sipping on it. Sakura seemed relieved to see him.

Sasuke wondered who this was. He could not pinpoint the man’s chakra, but something almost seemed _familiar_ in his posture. He was quite tall too.

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.

“How are you feeling about this?” Itachi asked, sipping his tea slowly.

He had come back to visit Sakura, as well as check on Sarada. While Itachi never _interacted_ with the young girl, due to what had happened with the clan, he felt honoured to watch his niece grow. Still, after this, he would need to speak to Kakashi about Sasuke’s current movements. Something was bothering him with the way he was moving. He was setting up for something _big_ that was for sure. Itachi was sure that Sasuke had yet to notice him, but it still made him a bit nervous.

Sakura was leaning against the counter, one hand against the edge and the other holding her own cup of tea. Sarada had left for class early, to train with Boruto before they would meet their new teacher. She had passed the genin exams with flying colours, and Sakura was very proud of the girl, that was easy enough to see. Itachi was grateful that the girl would be no doubt extremely powerful in a few years, maybe she would be the one that would end up defeating her father if worst came to worst.

“I think… I’m doing as well as I can, with his reappearance…”

Itachi nodded slowly. He knew what had transpired. It was easy enough to tell. When he had heard of the young girl’s birth, he had rushed to Orochimaru to regain his life. Apparently, the snake was curious as to what would happen. Still, Itachi was grateful, even if he was very irked by the hebi sannin.

“Yeah, I’ll keep an eye out on that,” he said softly.

He stilled for a moment, familiar chakra came from the entryway of the house. He heard a knock and sighed.

“I suppose he’s wanting to talk to you, this morning,” Itachi said, nearly a murmur, “I’ll leave, for now. I’ll come back later on tonight, if that’s fine with you?”

Sakura smiled cheerily, “Of course,” her smiled faded, “Just be careful. I’m not sure if you’re wanting to… see Sasuke.”

That had been on Itachi’s mind as soon as he found out about his younger brother’s ‘re-emergence’. Would telling the boy the truth prevent him from going down a dark path? Or would realising what he could turn into stop that? Even so, if Itachi _told_ Sasuke the truth, would he still come to the same conclusion? Itachi supposed he had a little time to think over this, but…

He shook his head.

He needed to go now. Before Sasuke realised who he was. He was sure that would cause some issues, particularly if Itachi was not ready for it.

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.

Sasuke watched as the mysterious man disappeared within a blink of his eye. Had he noticed Sasuke, maybe? No, maybe not. It was weird, but Sasuke knew that things were probably different now. Still, it was weird to see someone else in her house at this time of the morning. Maybe she moved on? Maybe that was her partner now? The thought of that made his stomach clench, even though he did not understand why. ‘ _It’s her life. I’ve done enough to hurt her. She wouldn’t wait for that monster that I become_.’

Sakura matched his eyes, as she made her way over to the door and let him in. She gave him a small smile. He noticed that she had a lab coat on, and was wearing clothing that would be more suited to a doctor than a ninja. This time, her hair was loose, but looked to have a slight wave to it. He could see how long her hair really was, falling down to just past her waist.

“Sorry if I stink a little,” she started, “I’ve just finished night shift. What did you need, Sasuke-kun?”

He frowned, “I just wanted to thank you for letting me get into the inheritance, for Naruto and I.”

Sakura nodded her head, “There’s more than enough money there. And I don’t really… use it myself. I earn more than enough for Sarada and I, it’s just a back-up more than anything. I hope you don’t mind too much.”

Sasuke shook his head. When Itachi had deserted the village, Sasuke was appointed as the heir. Itachi had been the ‘head’ in a sense, as the older sibling, even if he did extinguish the clan. The council allowed him to have access to the funds, and most of it was used to clean up the Uchiha estate, and pay for any bills. The inheritance was _all_ of the wealth of the Uchiha clan, including the other branches. While most of the family were rather wealthy, the main family had the most. It was definitely more than enough money to last numerous lifetimes, particularly with only one or two people using it. Sasuke was not sure if Itachi was still using it, but considering there was too many hoops to jump through in order to bar him from it – that and he simply did not have the status to do so – he left it alone. It had angered him that his brother was no doubt still using the funds, but from what Sasuke could see, _he_ was the only one using any of the money. It was weird, but Sasuke did not like thinking too much about it.

Sasuke was fine with Sakura having access to it, considering she no doubt used it to look after her daughter in the beginning, before Sakura was able to work. To Sasuke, Sakura seemed like the sort that would be wanting to stay home with a young child. It was so Sakura like to him. The young Uchiha moved slightly closer to her, trying to ignore the grimace that she showed – was she scared of him? Of the being that he would become?

He had something he wanted to say. He had been thinking about it overnight. He wanted to make sure that Sarada still existed. It was easy enough to see, even with his limited knowledge of Sarada, that he wanted her to exist. Would Sakura wanted that, though? He wanted to confirm with her.

“I’ve got something I need to say,” he said, his voice soft.

He was a bit nervous about it, to be honest. It was a weird thing to be saying to a woman that was twice his age. After all, he was still a kid, and it was an odd promise.

Sakura’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“I want to change who I become,” Sasuke muttered, “I don’t want… things to be like this. With anything. With you and I, as well.”

Sakura pushed him back slightly, “Don’t.”

He continued, “Even with Sarada, if you want. If you want her to still…” he trailed off.

She looked… annoyed. It was not what Sasuke was expecting. He grimaced outwardly, he was being weird. This was weird. He is talking to the mother of his child like this. To the woman that had been dealt a cruel fate by his own actions. What did he expect? She was offended, and she let out a dry laugh at his words.

“You can’t promise anything. There’s no reason as to why you would change,” she said, venom thick in her voice – no doubt the hurt and the loneliness, “I’m not going to hold you to a promise, that I’m not even sure you’ll even _remember_. We can’t send you back with all this knowledge. And even if _I_ allowed it, I’m not sure I’d want you to know in case things go the same way.”

This time he glared, “What do you mean by that? You aren’t sending us back with our memories intact? Why not? We can change things. _I_ can change things.”

The roseate shook her head, “There’s a lot of things that _you_ don’t know. Things that I can’t tell you, because it’s not my place to do so. Things that will no doubt change your mind on the village in general, and anyone that is here.”

What does she mean by that? Was there something she knew, that he had missed? Why wouldn’t she of all people tell him? It’s ‘not her place’? Whatever he had done had made it _her place._ Her hand was still against his chest. Sasuke was sure that this was a weird sight, that was for sure. A boy and a woman having an adult argument.

He shrugged her hand off of him, “Let us change things.”

“ _You’re_ the one that needs to change, not Naruto,” Sakura said, frowning, “If you let go of your revenge –“ she gestured around her, “None of this would have happened.”

Rage panged beneath the surface, and for once he was able to get a hold of it, instead of telling her off about something she would never understand. While he could not understand her anguish, she could not understand _his_. His look turned almost feral as he scowled heavily at her.

“You know of all people that I can’t do that.”

“Then, things won’t change for our future,” she said, her voice now weak, “There’s nothing you can do. I don’t even know what to do to prevent everything from happening _like this_. The moment you find out _everything_ , is when everything goes to hell.”

“ _Everything?_ ” he repeated.

“Everything.”

The two became silent. Sakura’s words rang in his skull. Was she no longer able to believe in him? Was what he had done that bad? He laughed sourly within himself, _of course it is._ He had done horrid things to her, and he was sure he had done other unforgiveable things. Sasuke shook his head back and forth, before taking a step back. He needed to think. He needed to change things. But… he could not let go of his revenge or his hatred for his elder brother. There was nothing even she could say to him to stop that. Was there something he did not know about what happened that night? No… surely not. It was pretty cut and dry – his elder brother killed the entirety of the Uchiha clan, and left him alive to test himself further in the future.

Sakura’s angry expression faded to one of sadness, “Even after, I did tell you to let go. But… it wasn’t enough. You still wanted revenge, even though… well, Itachi no longer existed. That’s all that runs you now.”

Itachi died? He… had succeeded then. In his revenge. But… something else obviously took a hold of him. What could it have been?

“If you can think of a way to let go, then maybe things can be… corrected,” she said, “but… at this point, I don’t believe in that. I do hope that things will change, but… I’ve held onto false hope for far too long to let myself become entangled in it, and to rely on it.”

Sasuke nodded numbly. She… had a point.

“I think… it’s best for you to go,” she said, gently touching his shoulder, “I’ll let Kakashi know what you want to do, but… I’m not sure if you’re ready to that, or to hear the truth of everything.”

He caught her eyes, “The truth?”

“It’s not my truth to tell, Sasuke-kun.”

.

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Within the bag that Kakashi had thrown at them, Naruto had received a note. An address. Kakashi had smiled knowingly, and said it might be time to see Hinata and Boruto. The thought of that made his breath hitch. It made him nervous, because, in all honesty – he had never really noticed Hinata. Hinata was kind and beautiful, that he can say… but she always seemed to dislike him, kind of. She refused to talk to him all that much, other than a timid ‘hello’.

He found his way in front of a small house in the centre of town. It was a cute little house, decorated in blues and creams. He gulped and knocked on the door. His disguise was pretty good, he barely recognised himself, although he was happy he got orange clothing out of Kakashi. He waited only a moment, before the door opened. Instantly, he was taken aback from what he saw.

Hinata.

Well, an older Hinata. Obviously.

Her hair was long, and fell to her hips, and she had cute bangs that were swept to the side. She was wearing a lavender jacket, with a black tank top beneath, and shorts with fishnets and a kunai bag strapped to her left leg. Her hitai-ate was tied around her neck, as normal. She was, well. Stunning. That Naruto could not deny.

She blinked before smiling gently, “Hi, did you want to come in? We can talk better inside?” she looked to the left and the right of the road.

He nodded, unable to let a word out.

He followed her inside, and the house was very clean. To the right of the corridor, were various photos. One that he recognised as the photo of Team Seven, and himself with another team photo, but this time with someone who was clearly not Sasuke. He looked older, maybe fifteen or sixteen. Kakashi was also nowhere to be found, replaced by a man with an armored hitai-ate on his forehead, and brown hair. Another photo was of himself and Hinata, he was grinning as she was kissing his cheek. He blushed at that.

He closed the door behind him, and tugged down the disguise a bit, so he could talk without a muffle.

“Did Kakashi-sensei tell you that I was around?” he asked.

She shook her head, “No, Sakura-chan did. We were training our kids together yesterday when she mentioned it. She was about to go to work, but had promised Sarada a quick session. She asked if Boruto and I could join for a two on two.”

Naruto nodded, “So we’re…”

“Yes,” she said softly, “I’m sure that this is all a huge shock to you. I’m told that you know of Boruto? Unfortunately, he just left for another training session with Sarada before school. But he’s excited to meet you.”

Boruto, huh… Within the photos were two photos of a boy that looked very much like him. Instead, his hair seemed more layered and less spiky. He also had two stripes on each cheek, rather than three, and brilliant blue eyes like his own. He seemed to have softer features and a straighter nose, no doubt from his mother. The photo itself was one of Hinata as well, with her hugging him, and smiling into the camera.

His eyes flickered onto Hinata once more, who seemed to be a little more emotional now. “I didn’t think I’d see you alive again.”

 _‘Ah. Sasuke-teme has killed me at this point_ ,’ he thought to himself, frowning. ‘ _Did he want to kill me now?’_ Naruto… didn’t think so. Sasuke was technically more skilled than he was at this point, so Sasuke could have killed him back in the Valley of the End. But he didn’t. He’s even allowed him to stay at the Uchiha estate, so… that has to be a positive thing, right? Then again, Naruto did not have much of a choice where to stay, and he would feel like he was intruding if he were to stay with Sakura or Kakashi. And Hinata too, he supposed. Though, that would be weird. His nose scrunched up at the thought of staying with Hinata; he felt like he would be betraying his future self.

Hinata smiled softly, “Although, I do forget how small you were as a child,” she poked her tongue out almost teasingly.

Normally, Naruto would be _extremely_ offended, but he thought it was very cute. He blushed, unable to contain his own embarrassed emotions. He also knew Hinata meant nothing mean by it, so he was more okay with it.

So Boruto was his son, and Hinata was his partner. His eyes flickered onto a ring on her ring finger. He frowned at this, and Hinata seemed to catch what he was looking at.

“No, it’s not what you think,” she said, her smile not faltering, “Naruto-kun – the one from this time – proposed to me a month before…” her smiled faded almost instantly at the thought. “In my mind, we are married. But…”

 _‘He’s dead. She never got to have a wedding or…’_ Naruto thought to himself, shaking his head.

“I’m lucky, you know,” she said, “Otou-san was very helpful when I found out I was pregnant. Normally, I suppose, he would have been disappointed but… we were going to get married in the next year, so he understands. That and your death obviously…”

She shook her head. “Come on, let’s not talk about this sort of stuff. You’re here now, and I’m sure you might have some questions for me. Boruto will be back earlier today, because they are being assigned to their Jonin teachers today,” she grinned, “Konohamaru is their teacher.”

Naruto blinked. Konohamaru? The spoiled little brat that he took under his wing? Wow. He must have come a long way since the Konohamaru that Naruto knew. He wondered if Iruka was alive, now that he thought about. Iruka would be pretty far along in age now, he supposed. Probably close to fifty.

“Wait,” Naruto said, wanting to ask one more thing, “How old were you when you…”

Hinata smiled sadly, “I’m fairly sure it happened the morning before you left to chase down Sasuke. I was seventeen at the time, nearly eighteen. You were eighteen.”

So he died at eighteen. That almost made him sad. He wanted to live far longer than that, and become Hokage.

“Kakashi-sama had said to you that he would begin training you as Hokage, but you wanted to bring Sasuke back before then,” Hinata said softly, which was a bit hard considering how soft her voice was to begin with, “And fulfil your promise to Sakura-chan. You weren’t too happy with Sakura falling pregnant, she was only a few months along at that point.”

He could imagine. It would probably be a major shock to him for Sakura falling pregnant, particularly with Sasuke’s child while he’s still missing. Though, he supposed Hinata would not know of what occurred, as even his future self apparently did not know. Still, Sakura and Hinata seem like they are close. Above the picture frames was a corkboard with selfies between Hinata and Sakura. Perhaps with the two of them, they bonded further over his death and their pregnancies. It did make him smile, that one of his best-friends was close to his partner.

Hinata reached for his hand, “I’ve cooked you up some ramen, I know it’s a bit early but… I figured you would want to talk over ‘breakfast’,” her nose scrunched up, “Come on.”

She lead him into the kitchen, and he took in his surroundings some more. There was a decent sized kitchen, and on the stove top was a pot. He could see the steam rising from it, and the lovely smell of ramen. It smelled delicious, he could easily identify beef, spring onions and garlic. It nearly made his mouth drool. He nearly fell in love with her straight away – it was clear that his other self felt a lot for this woman, particularly since she cooked ramen of all things!

“Help yourself, Naruto-kun.”

At that, his stomach growled and a massive grin sprouted onto his face.

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.

It had been a few hours since he had spoken to Sakura. He… felt bad. He felt horrible, actually. He summoned his chakra within his cheeks, before blowing out a fireball across the lake. The lake was almost sacred to him, he watched as fish darted away in fear. Training was always something that helped him get his emotions in check.

He should apologise, really. He had overstepped, but her words… Damn her words. He truly did want to change things, but he was unsure if he was willing to give up revenge, even for her. His brother needed to be put down, if he settled – his brother would come after her and Sarada. It was lucky, really, that he had clearly killed Itachi beforehand. He snarled outwardly, what was he to do? Have a child with Sakura and go after Itachi? It seemed so… _manipulative_ when he thought of it that way.

He was still _so weak_. He needed to go to Orochimaru still. But maybe he could put it off and train with Kakashi? No, he needed to get stronger – fast. He was weak now, Itachi had proved that in their last encounter.

With a growl, he summoned another fireball, and watched it flow over the water before fading out. He huffed to himself, before sitting down, taking off his shoes and dipping his toes into the water. He looked at his own reflection; a frown was heavy on his face, and his hair was a bit ragged. It was probably about time to take a bath, considering they didn’t really have the time to yesterday, other than a quick wash-down beside the lake. He and Naruto did not speak that much when they returned back, Sasuke had been too busy thinking over everything – over what he had subjected Sakura to.

He felt horrible about it all. How did things come to this? While it was true, he _never_ could picture himself hurting Sakura in that way. What changed? What had caused him to do that? Sakura had mentioned something about a truth, and Sasuke supposed his object of revenge changed. But what did that mean? Did that have something to do with Itachi? Had he seen things in a different way to what they really were? Surely not. It couldn’t be. Even so, he had no idea where to look to find that ‘truth’ that apparently she had no right to give him.

Sasuke sighed, his eyes flickering onto the sun’s reflection. He needed time to think. He knew for sure he wanted to change things, so that things didn’t go this way. But _how_?

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.

Naruto had hung around with Hinata for a good few hours, they had spoken a lot and she had revealed bits and pieces of their relationship. Naruto was quickly surprised that she was happy to be telling him this, but was grateful. It seemed like his other self was not lonely, and was actually respected and loved by the village at this point. It made him happy to know that his dream was close to being realised, but made him upset to know that that got ripped away from him.

Hinata went still for a moment, before breaking into a grin, “Boruto – in here!”

How had she noticed that he had returned? How powerful was this girl now? He glanced into the hallway that lead into the kitchen, and he saw a carbon copy of himself. The boy was wearing black and dark pink clothing, and had a screw wrapped into a necklace around his neck. The boy, true to photos, was very similar looking to Naruto. They definitely looked about the same age. The boy almost rushed into the lounge room once noticing his father.

“Dad!”

He felt a bit irked by hearing a kid his age calling him ‘dad’, but he could not help but feel a bit giddy about it all. The boy was definitely a lot like him in terms of looks, and it was almost like looking into a mirror.

“How did you go, Boruto?” Hinata asked, “With Konohamaru-sensei.”

Boruto grinned, and showed off his headband, “We passed the bell test.”

The bell test? “Oh, I did that as well.”

“Yeah, Sarada and Mitsuki and I worked together really well. I don’t think Konohamaru knew what hit him,” Boruto grinned, pride rolling off of him in waves.

The Hyuuga beside him was smile very prettily.

“Anyways – more about you; how old are you? Can we spar? Why are you here? Are you doing okay? Is—“

Hinata giggled, “Come on Boruto, don’t overload him with questions. I’m sure he’ll spar with you.”

It was clear that Hinata had spoken very positively of him, the boy looked at him in adoration and pure happiness. He had a massive grin on his face. Naruto felt his own face break into a matching smile, “Sure, I’ll spar with you. Just ask questions a little more… _slowly_.”

Boruto nodded, and began asking his father questions about his life.

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Sasuke skipped a rock across the lake before he sighed, and headed back towards the Uchiha estate. The outside area that had once been beautifully decorated was also wrecked, although this time it was from overgrown grass and weeds. It was just under his knees, so it seemed like someone would sometimes clean up, but it was still in a bad way. Normally, he would begin to clear everything up, but he felt no need to.

He noticed that there was kid sitting on the balcony, their legs hanging over the side. He pulled into a jog, and noticed that it was Sarada. The girl was watching him wearily, before adjusting her glasses. Seeing her more clearly now, and outside of being talked to in Sakura’s house, he could see that she very much looked like Sakura. While she had his colourings, in both ebony hair and eyes, her face was smooth, and nose small. She was more tanned than Sakura was, but a little more lighter than him.

He gave her a curt nod, “Hey.”

“Hey,” she responded back, standing up and dusting herself off, “I wanted to ask you a favour, kind of. I spoke to Boruto too—“ _Ah, Naruto’s kid._ “—and he and Naruto are gonna meet up here in about fifteen.”

He tiled his head, “Yeah?”

_For what?_

“We’re gonna spar, Boruto and I versus you two,” she said, “I want to see how powerful you are at this age.”

She hopped down from the balcony, and Sasuke noticed her power right away. The girl was more than likely stronger than he was. Her chakra was soft, in a way, but it felt vicious in the sense of its potency. He eyed her suspiciously for a moment. He had barely spoken a word to the girl, why had she wanted to spar them? To gloat at their strength?

She had her hands on her hips, “I get it, if you want to chicken out. I figure I might be able to show you some things, because why not. It’s not like you taught me anything.”

 _‘Ouch_.’ That stung a little.

“Sensei has taught me a bit, and I wonder how much he’s taught you in comparison.”

“Sensei?”

“Kakashi-sensei.”

 _‘Oh, so Kakashi decided to train her then.’_ Sasuke exhaled and nodded, “Fine. Just don’t get mad when we beat you,” it’s a bit of a bluff, but Sasuke was sure that he and Naruto could pull something off against the kids.

She smirked at that. As if on cue, Naruto and—what Sasuke assumed to be—Boruto showed up. It was a bit weird, considering the two looked very similar. Feeling safe on the Uchiha compound, Naruto was no longer wearing his mask, and had it half-hanging out of his jacket.

Sarada’s attention fell onto Naruto, “Hi, I’m Sarada Haruno,” she said, “I’m very… happy to meet you, in a more… normal sense.” She gave Naruto a grin.

It seemed that Sarada had heard a lot about Naruto, no doubt. Unlike him, Sarada gave the blond attention. Sasuke felt annoyance bubble underneath the surface, but did his best to not let it show, other than his fists clenching.

Naruto grinned, “Wow, you _do_ look a lot like Sakura-chan.”

“That’s a major compliment,” Sarada said, still smiling, “I’m sure Boruto has filled you in?”

Boruto rolled his eyes, “As if I wouldn’t, Sarada. Come on. It’s _me_ we’re talking about.”

In response, the girl sighed, “Yeah, that’s why I worry. Anyways. It’s a simple half an hour spar. Obviously, no killing each-other. If someone gets knocked out, they are out of the fight,” she said, “But don’t worry, you’re not completely out of it at that point, whoever’s father or child gets knocked out, their father or child also is out.”

Sasuke shrugged. So, it could turn into a one on one. He was fine with that, he was curious of his daughter’s skills, even if it seemed like she was stronger than him at this point. It wasn’t a bad thing, in his mind, it made him proud actually.

“Okay, Naruto, Sasuke,” Sarada said, clasping her hands together, “Let me know if there are any questions.”

Sasuke shook his head, while Naruto let out an audible ‘no’.

The two boys headed to one side of the field, while the other two headed to the other side.

“Okay! Is everyone ready?” Boruto shouted.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, a grin falling onto his features, “Are _you_ ready Sasuke-teme?”

The Uchiha, in response, felt a smirk fall onto his face, “Don’t get in my way, dobe.”

“Okay, go!”

.

.

.

Sarada darted forwards, her target was Sasuke. She wanted to pummel him into the ground for what had happened. Ever since she was a kid, she was always teased and bullied for being an Uchiha. ‘Uchiha’s bastard’ was a common insult for her, and her mother also got horrid treatment, even though she was one of the best doctors and medics around. Sasuke seemed to have the same idea, focusing on her. The two came to a stand-still, and they both glanced at Boruto and Naruto, who were tangling together with shadow clones and kunai spreading around. While it _was_ technically a two on two, it was fair enough to see that each of them had their own targets.

Her eyes focused onto Sasuke. He did look a bit like her, she did have to admit, even if it nearly made her vomit. Her eyes narrowed as she reached for a kunai from the pouch strapped to her right leg, she twirled it around on her finger, and Sasuke lifted his fists, ready to fight. She smirked at him, before using a one-handed hand sign – he blinked into the sharingan instantly at that, and she disappeared before reappearing behind him, with a cocky blow to his back.

Or at least, that was what she wanting. He grabbed her leg, and twirled himself around before pushing her back. He gave her his own smirk, looking almost disinterested at the same time.

“That was a bit… underwhelming,” he said, lowly.

His sharingan eyes were focused on her hands. While Sarada had seen her own eyes, she could see that his eyes had three tomoe to each, while her own had only one tomoe in one eye, and two in the other. His was clearly more developed, so he could probably see further ahead than she could, _but…_ He probably didn’t have the strength or the speed to keep up, she darted forwards and he went to dodge, but she guessed where he would land, slashing him in the side of the leg.

He growled in response, giving her a look, “Where’s your sharingan?”

“Don’t need it.”

He looked quite offended by that, and Sarada almost laughed. She watched as he did handsigns – ah. She could see where this was going, she quickly did her own hand signs.

“ _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_!”

The two fireballs slammed into each-other, and at this point, it was a show of power. With a smirk, she allowed more chakra to leave her cheeks, which brightened her own fireball. Hers would win.

.

.

.

Mismatched eyes were fixated on the battlefield. He eyed the two kids using his clan’s jutsu. He could recognise one as being Sarada, the other… Well, this was interesting. He had knew of the girl’s existence, but this kid looked too much like himself when he was younger. He crept forward a little, before bounding onto the field.

.

.

.

“What the fuck?” Sasuke snarled, a massive chakra appearing.

Almost instantly, the four kids stopped what they were doing, and came to where Sasuke and Sarada were standing. Naruto’s eyes were fixated upon a tall man in front of them. He was maybe twenty metres away, and something about his chakra signature was both chilling and familiar. To all of them, they felt instantly afraid. Something was very wrong, and none of them could _do anything_. This man was too powerful, that was easy enough to see.

“Sarada,” he drawled, before appearing in front of the four of them.

This man was… Sasuke. An older one. One who…

One eye was ebony, while the other was grey with tomoe swirling around. Sasuke stilled himself, his eyes focusing on his older self. The man was wearing dark clothing, with high collars. The zipper was pulled down, and a cloak surrounded him that reminded him of the one that he had seen Itachi wearing. His hair was very messy, jutting out in nearly all angles. He looked tired, but at the same time, deranged.

Sarada shivered, “Sasuke.”

He almost looked amused, “Is that how you address your father?”

She laughed bitterly, “You’re no father of mine, prick.”

Boruto had his hand on the girl’s shoulder, before standing in front of her. “Back off.”

The four kids watched as confusion flitted onto Sasuke’s face, before he darted backwards, letting out a grunt. Something had spooked him, that was easy to see. Crows flooded in front of the kids, before a taller figure appeared with his back to them.

“Huh? Who are you?”

Sasuke knew, though. Sasuke knew for sure who this was.

“Itachi.”


	6. Black Crow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments I've been receiving. Unfortunately, I have a bit of writer's block - or more so - I'm having difficulty with putting words to paper. I'm luckily quite ahead, so it won't affect my schedule too much. Again, about two weeks from now for a new chapter.

The two men stared at each-other, almost in disdain. Sasuke had a puzzled look on his face, as Itachi regarded him. While he had never seen Itachi, he had had a feeling, but did not want to give himself false hope. Still, Itachi would be a tough opponent, even with the rinnegan that swirled in his left eye. His eyes narrowed at the Leaf headband strapped to the elder Uchiha’s forehead.

“Why do you continue to fight for them, Itachi? They made your life hell,” he snapped.

“The Uchiha caused that onto themselves,” Itachi said in response, “I never wanted things to come to this, for you.”

Sasuke shook his head, “Why not join me? Become brothers again?” Desperation was evident in his tone.

“You know far-well I can’t do that,” Itachi said in response, his posture straightening, “Leave. Or I’ll be forced to kill you.”

The fallen Uchiha laughed at that, “You couldn’t do it years ago, why would you now?”

His brother stepped forward, “You’re not my brother. Not anymore. You haven’t been my brother for a long time, Sasuke.”

Sasuke looked pained at that, before shaking his head. “Well. I suppose… soon is the right time. In a week, I will return, and this village will be gone, with you in it,” his eyes flicked onto Sarada, who seemed to be shocked at this point, “I’ll return for you, and your mother. You are the only two who will not feel the sting of my revenge.”

With that, he disappeared in a wisp of dark smoke.

Itachi turned to the four kids, who were – clearly – horrified. Particularly the younger Sasuke. Itachi sighed. He knew something like this would happen soon, but not now. He had hoped he would have time to rest since his last excursion, he was barely at half strength. He was grateful that Sasuke had not decided to kill him now, and be done with it. A week… that could mean a few things.

“Who are you?” Boruto asked, the first out of his stupor.

“It’s Itachi,” Sasuke spat.

“Itachi? As in my uncle?” Sarada asked.

Naruto just looked spooked.

Sasuke’s eyes glanced over to Sarada, both sets of their eyes now crimson with the sharingan, “He’s _not_ your uncle. He murdered the rest of the clan! Why do you think you’re the only Uchiha in Konoha?”

Sarada gave him a feral look, “ _You_ don’t know everything.”

.

.

.

Sasuke could nearly pull his hair out in frustration, that and stick a kunai into the bastard’s heart. Why is she also saying that? It was almost like hearing Sakura’s words again, from this morning. And Itachi? How was he alive? His older-self had killed him, hadn’t he? What the hell? It was like his world being thrown upside down, _again_.

“We need to talk,” this time his attention was on Sasuke.

“Now, why would I listen to anything _you_ have to say?”

“Because it might stop you from becoming like _him_.”

Sasuke paused. He… supposed he could hear Itachi out. Maybe. His crimson eyes narrowed, still bright with the sharingan. He glanced at Sarada, who seemed both excited and pleased to see Itachi. It was weird. What had Sakura told Sarada about Itachi? Why was _he_ now one of the people she seemed to like? It made him feel angry and disgusted at _whatever_ lies were told to Sarada about Itachi. What reason would they have told her _anything_ about this monster?

Itachi’s gaze flowed onto the field behind him, where the present Sasuke had stood. Something seemed to bother him about it all. Sasuke had found it weird that Itachi had protected them from this man, but still… He could not help but shake off the fury that he was feeling over his older brother’s sudden arrival. Itachi was a bad man, quite literally. He destroyed everything about the Uchiha clan, and had left his younger sibling alive in order to test his limits later on. What had Itachi seen in Sasuke? Sometimes, Sasuke wished that he was also taken out with the Uchiha clan when they were massacred that fateful night.

Still… a week… a _week_ until the other Sasuke came back for Sarada _and_ Sakura. It made his throat hurt. He could feel the man’s power, and knew that no-one in the village could possibly stand up to him. Would he bring an army? Was it to all-out slaughter the village, and take what he believes is his? Sasuke could barely recognise himself in the other man. His chakra was colder and crueller, and his gaze was one of both tiredness and disinterest. Still, the way he had looked at Sarada made him feel uncomfortable. Sarada easily recognised him, but…

Sasuke felt a gentle pat on his shoulder, he glanced to his side, and Sarada was staring at him with sad eyes, “It’s okay,” she said, her voice soft and gentle – very different to the direct tones that he had heard in the girl’s voice.

While she was a girl who he had also wronged, clearly, it seemed part of her gave a damn about him. Normally, he would shrug it off, but comfort was kind of something he needed at that moment.

His eyes shifted back to Itachi, who looked thoughtful for a moment, before he vanished away, in his usual crow feathers. Where had he gone? Wasn’t he going to talk to Sasuke about something?

“We should head back,” Naruto said quietly, his voice thick with emotion, “I think we need to talk to everyone…”

Before they could do anything, Sakura appeared in front of them. Her expression was both alarmed and frightened.

“Mama!” Sarada cried out, and practically leapt into her mother’s arms.

Sasuke watched silently as a mother and her daughter hugged, her fingers pulling gently through the inky strands of his daughter’s head. She was whispering something gentle to the girl, that even Sasuke could not pick up. Her eyes flickered onto Sasuke, “We need to get to the Hokage’s office. Kakashi has asked for a meeting.”

.

.

.

When Naruto arrived, he did not know what to expect. With the other Sasuke’s sudden re-emergence, it was clear that everyone was on high alert. Within the room were Kakashi, Itachi and Shikamaru. The kids and Sakura had arrived together. Itachi, who Naruto was still shocked to see _breathing_ hovered in the corner, his arms over his chest. Shikamaru looked older, his hair a bit longer but still pulled into a pony-tail that jutted up the back. Normally, Naruto would be happy to see a familiar face, but decided to not say anything.

Shikamaru was looking over files on the desk, “Hey, Naruto,” his greeted coolly, “Normally, I’d nearly give you a hug, but I’m not sure if now’s the time. I’ve been looking into your case all through last night, when you boys arrived. I haven’t got the kinks figured out, but…”

“Come out with it,” Sasuke barked to the side, his tone annoyed – no doubt with having to deal with his brother being in the same room.

Naruto did not understand. How was Itachi alive? Shouldn’t he be dead?

“I think I get how you guys got here, and how we can maybe send you back,” he said, “Without getting too much into detail, you guys pretty much set off the axis of time. Time travel is possible, but it’s never triggered on purpose. But… in order to get you both back, we need to send you back through where you guys came from. I'm… fairly… sure if you do the same thing again, you both will be able to go back to your own timeline.”

Time travel? Still, Naruto guessed it was possible since they were, well, in the future. It just felt like a bad genjutsu, kind of, considering he met both Boruto and Hinata. Well, he met Hinata _again_ , but… His eyes narrowed, “Are you guys still planning on making us forget?”

Kakashi cut in this time, “We need more time to figure that out, which is the shit part. We don’t want to absolutely upset the balance of time by changing everything. Hell, we’re unsure if when we send you guys back, it’ll affect our timeline at all. There’s two theories with it, and we’re hoping that whatever you guys do in your time, it’ll affect us.”

Naruto could feel his brain hurt.

“You don’t have the time, that other guy will be back in a week,” Sasuke said, his voice gravelly.

Kakashi nodded, “That’s why we’re trying to figure out the best course of action _now_. We may need a few hours, but…” he shook his head and glanced at Shikamaru, “I need you to get me the _exact_ formula before we even attempt to send them back.”

Shikamaru sighed, “What a drag. Yeah, fine. I’ll see if my family will come together for it, alright? We may need more than a few hours, since, well… no one has ever gone back or forward in time on purpose.”

“Just do it as quick as you can. We need to send them back before Sasuke returns, he has already seen them both, so I can imagine he’ll ensnare them into his plans. Whatever they are.”

Sakura stepped forward, “I… should have known. He did mention to me _then_ he would return for Sarada and I, once Sarada was older.”

.

.

.

It had happened during the start of the war. Sasuke had been dormant for around three years, hell, he was assumed to be dead considering how quiet he had been for that amount of time. Sakura needed to get out of the village, even for a little bit, and decided to take Sarada with her. There was a small spring with a waterfall nearby, where she and Sarada could wade for a little while in the hot weather.

( _“Is this good, Sarada-chan?” she asked softly, as she ran her wet fingers through the toddler’s hair. In response, the girl cooed happily, slapping her hands into the water._

_“Mama—Mama—Mama!” she giggled happily._

_Sakura found herself smiling at the baby girl. She was such a blessing, even if she came from a dark place. She was so beautiful and pure, and Sakura adored her so much. She would be torn apart if she lost her daughter. She had been worried when she had found out that she was pregnant that she would be unable to bond with the little girl, but… well, she bonded with her straight away._

_Sarada grabbed for her index finger and squeezed her chubby hands. Sakura smiled, sitting fully into the water, and pulling her baby into her lap. Sarada cackled playfully as she watched the waterfall above in awe._

_Then, dread fell through her. Instantly, Sakura tore herself and her baby out of the water, or well tried to, to only be face to face with the man that haunted her very dreams._

_She swallowed, and noticed that his eyes were very different. One was red with the sharingan, and the other had an odd purple look to it, with numerous rings and tomoe. A rinnegan? Sarada no longer was playful, and was sniffing, trying not to burst into tears._

_“Ah, Sakura,” he greeted coolly, keeping a hand on her arm._

_Normally, she could easily overpower him in bare strength, but she did not want to risk Sarada. She eyed him fearfully, trying to swallow what little saliva she had left in her mouth. He looked dangerous, more dangerous than he did on that night. Something about him made him even more… well, terrifying. Maybe it was the mismatched eyes, or how much shaggier his hair had gotten._

_“Who’s this?” his eyes peered down to the little girl, who was now hiding into her mama’s shirt, shivering slightly. Even Sarada knew that this man was dangerous, no doubt sensing his potent chakra._

_Sakura stayed silent, now eyeing him defiantly._

_“Hm? You know that I can go through your memories,” he said, voice low, “I’m sure that’ll be a lot more painful. Who is she, Sakura?”_

_“Mama,” the little girl hiccupped, now in tears. “Mama, who scary man?”_

_Anger flickered beneath the surface, he was terrifying the little toddler._

_“_ Sakura.”

_“Ts…” she glanced away, deciding it might be best to not anger him further. Who knew what he was capable of now. “I… Sarada. Her name’s Sarada.”_

_“And you’re her mother?” his voice seemed stormy, “Odd. I’d never heard—“_

_“Leave us alone, Sasuke,” Sakura said, voice strained, “I need to take her home. You’re scaring her.”_

_Almost as if burned, he backed off, eyeing her dangerously. “I’m not here to harm you.”_

_Sakura did not believe him. Not at all. She stayed in the water, it felt colder now. She stayed very, very still. The toddler tried to move in her arms, but she gripped onto the little girl with an iron clad grip. She was scared that Sasuke would swipe her away from Sakura._

_Sakura could make her escape now, that he had given them space, but…_

_He looked down at her, and she watched as his sharingan faded, but the rinnegan stayed in place. He knelt down, now further away. “She’s mine?”_

_Sakura stayed silent._

_“Of course she is,” he laughed slightly to himself, “You wouldn’t settle for any other.”_

_That made her feel sick to her stomach._

_“How old is she now? Two? Three years old?”_

_“Two and a half…” Sakura said softly, her voice holding back a shiver that was collecting in her throat._

_He nodded, “She’s fairly big.”_

_Sarada cooed softly, “Mama – go home, please?”_

_“We will, sweetheart,” she said softly, more of a whisper to the little girl, “We will, sweetheart.”_

_Sasuke watched, seeming to be interested in their small talk. Sakura talked quietly to the little girl, trying to get her to calm down. It seemed to help her own nerves as well. Sakura just wanted to go home and cry. She did not want this to go awry, considering what he had done when they had been alone previously. It made her feel nauseous that that could happen again. Sasuke, however, kept his distance, studying the two. He did not_ seem _to have any wants for_ that _again._

_His eyes narrowed before he stood up and glanced to the left and right. “She needs her mother,” he said, his tone now clipped and irritated, “Even I can see that. I’ll return for both of you, when she is older.”_

_Sakura felt her breath hitch. No, she doesn’t want to go with him –_

_“I’ll see you around, Sakura.”_

_Her eyes fell onto her daughter, noticing the tell-tale signs of the sharingan.)_

“You saw Sasuke again?” she heard Shikamaru shout, “Why wouldn’t you—“

“I told her not to say anything,” Kakashi cut in, “We weren’t sure what Sasuke had meant. Or how long until he would arrive.”

Sakura looked guilty, her eyes flickering onto the ground. That moment had been terrifying. Luckily, Sarada did not seem to remember, but… now she knows. Her green eyes fell onto her daughter, who looked horrified, which was fair enough. She did not know how she came to be, but Sakura had drilled into her head to _never_ go with Sasuke, no matter what. Knowing now, that Sasuke was after her? That should terrify her, and it clearly does.

Shikamaru sighed loudly, “That’s pretty close to treason, isn’t it?” his gaze was on Kakashi now.

This time, Naruto cut in, “It doesn’t exactly seem like she sought him out? He found her! Not the other way around.”

The Nara genius rolled his eyes, “She has a kid with the Uchiha. She’s lucky she wasn’t executed for it. It’s common knowledge that Sarada has Uchiha blood.”

“You don’t understand the circumstances,” Itachi cut in, having been silent the entire time, “Don’t assume. Kakashi-sama has let it go, as did Tsunade-sama. There is no case here for treason, and now is not the time for an argument from thirteen years ago.”

Kakashi nodded his head, “I allowed her to have amnesty for that, as did Tsunade when the elders first questioned it...”

Sakura gave a look to Shikamaru, “I was the first one to point out who Sarada was, and they let it go. You _know_ that the elders wanted their hands on any Uchihas, that’s why they didn’t know about Itachi coming back.”

.

.

.

Sasuke felt a tingle of anger when Shikamaru had tried to accuse Sakura of treason. She had not told anyone other than Kakashi, clearly, and Itachi seemed like he may have an idea from what he said. Still, having Itachi in the same room just made him uncomfortable. He didn’t like the fact that Itachi was in close range of both Sakura and Sarada, and he worried that he was setting something up for them both. Who knows, maybe Itachi was secretly working for his future self, but… part of Sasuke seemed to acknowledge that maybe that was not the case.

One thing for sure was that he needed to hear the _truth_ from Itachi. He believed that this could change things, maybe.

Itachi cleared his throat, and the entire room focused on him, “I believe the best course of action would be to send both Sasuke and Naruto back with their memories, we are better off to take this chance to have things not work out the way they have.”

Shikamaru responded, “But we don’t know how that’ll affect our timeline, and we don’t even know if Sasuke will still turn.”

The older Uchiha shrugged, “We won’t know until we take that risk.”

Kakashi spoke up this time, “I do need time to think of this, but I do understand both of your viewpoints on the matter. I may be able to do something that will help the two boys out.”

What does he mean?

Sarada sighed heavily, “So my evil dad’s after me and Mama, and we’re _possibly_ going to have to put everyone’s fates up to these two?”

Her mother tapped her on the head lightly, “We’ll have to see, sweetheart.”

Kakashi nodded, seeming to look a bit thoughtful. “I’ll come up with an answer in the next couple of days, I’d prefer to have all information in front of me. Shikamaru, please speak to your family and try and come up with a formula so that we can get this right on the first go. You’re dismissed.”

Shikamaru bowed respectfully, and made his exit. Leaving the room with a gentle tap of the door. Kakashi looked more tired than usual and sighed loudly.

“I’m glad you stayed back, Itachi,” Kakashi said, softly, his eyes glancing over to Sasuke, “Take him with you, and tell him everything. If his reaction is… well, _not_ what the current Sasuke had, we may have a chance to change the future.”

Itachi nodded, and Sasuke frowned. He did not want to be alone with this man.

.

.

.

Kakashi could see the irritation etched onto the younger Uchiha sibling’s face, but he did not really care. If he reacted somewhat positively, then there may be a chance to change their future. Maybe. Still, if an older Sasuke reacted badly – then… well. Kakashi supposed it was Obito that was the one that told the current Sasuke, so maybe hearing everything from his brother’s point of view may be better. Itachi had made it clear that he had wanted to die (due to his sickness), and that he wanted the truth to die along with him. Sasuke was apparently meant to come back a ‘hero’, but that clearly went awry. While Kakashi could put the blame solely on Itachi, he knew that the man had tried to do everything he could to protect his home – the village. Even if it meant sacrificing his life here, as well as destroying his relationship with his younger brother.

It was awful that Danzo had set it up that way, but Kakashi supposed that the man wanted the Uchihas out, so that he could take over control. Luckily, his stint as Hokage was small, considering Sasuke had killed him. Still. Kakashi did not know what to do, and he was torn on the two options he had. He could definitely let the boys go back with the knowledge of the future intact, but would it be in vain if Sasuke still turned out the same? Maybe Naruto would try to put him down as soon as he could. Who knows? He just hoped that things did work out well, but… his trust in Sasuke was lacking. The boy that stood in front of him becomes the very monster that haunts the world. He could not just let that go. And if he let them go without the knowledge of the future, things will just end up the exact same way. He _hoped_ that Sasuke reacted well to what Itachi says, but he wasn’t holding his breath.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair for a moment, “Boruto, you can go home too. Let Hinata-san know what’s going on as well as you can, she’ll understand. Tell her to let the Hyuuga clan know, as well.”

Boruto nodded sharply, and headed out. Leaving behind the three Uchihas, and Sakura and Naruto. Sakura had her arms crossed.

“Sakura, when the time comes – when Sasuke comes—“

“No, Kakashi, I’m staying here.”

“You will need to take Sarada and _run_. Itachi and I will hold him off as well as we can.”

Sarada looked panicked once more, her gaze flickering up to her mother, “W… Will it have to come to that?”

Kakashi looked away, “I hope not, but we will never know for now. I’d prefer you both be out of the village. His main targets will be you two.”

Sakura growled, “I am better off here!”

“And you need to protect Sarada! There’s no one else that could _possibly_ meet Sasuke’s strength.”

She stilled. Her eyes focused on her daughter, who was no doubt full of fear at this point. She nodded numbly, and bowed her head. “I… Sarada and I need to go home. Are we—“

“Go.”

She reached for her daughter, linked their fingers and walked out of the office. Terror radiated off the both of them. Sasuke… well, he just. He did not know what to feel. He felt for the two, but there was – quite literally – nothing he could do right now. His eyes flickered onto Naruto. They would get back with their memories intact. They _had_ to. He had to change things—he just. He had to. For both Sakura and Sarada.

“I think… that’s everything. I will call another meeting when things start to fall into place,” his eyes swept over the group, before landing on the older Uchiha brother, “Itachi.”

Itachi nodded.

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.

.

Sakura knelt down in front of Sarada, who was sitting in the dining room. She placed both hands on her daughter’s shoulders, and leaned her head forward, their foreheads touching.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

“… I’ll do the same for you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

The two hurried along to packing some bags with whatever they would need, before sitting together in the lounge in silence.

.

.

.

Sarada leaned back into her pillows, she felt like crying, but the tears would not come. Everything was so fucked up right now, and she did not know how to deal with the emotions she was feeling. She turned to her side, facing the window. It was nearly night time, the sun was just sitting up above the horizon. Cloud etched together along with the sunbeams made a beautiful sight. She quivered slightly, before a black figure appeared in the window.

“K—Kuro?”

She sat right up, and opened the window. The crow darted in and crowed. As always, the bird had its right eye closed, and its haunting white eye open. The bird cooed at the girl, and Sarada patted him on the head.

( _“A crow?” her mama had asked, looking puzzled._

_“Yeah, he appears at my window sometimes. He’s like, very tame… I can pat him, and he’ll hang out with me for a few hours,” Sarada said in response._

_The bird was sitting in front of them, on top of a book and was preening its feathers. The two noticed that he seemed to be injured, Sakura reached for the bird and he responded by jumping onto her left hand. Her right hand hovered over the bird’s closed eye, and instantly, confusion flittered onto her mother’s face._

_“What’s wrong? He’s missing an eye, isn’t he?” Sarada said, her tone almost sad._

_“N—No. Actually, he has it—“ she said, her eyes narrowing on the bird, “And it seems to be functioning well. I’m not sure… why his eye is closed like this.”_

_The young girl reached for the bird herself, it happily landing on her head this time. It crowed its pleasure and sunk into her hair, making itself comfortable. Sarada could not help but giggle._

_“He seems to like you a lot.”_

_“Yeah, he’s been around for a while, I thought he was someone’s pet,” Sarada murmured, grinning, “But maybe not.”_

_“Has he always had his eye closed like this? I’m not veterinarian, but I can usually still heal animals fine,” she said, “I can also tell when their eyes are functioning, and his seem to be…”_

_Sarada nodded, patting the crow on the head, who once more let out a noise of happiness. The crow was always gentle, and it wasn’t until her mother saw it that she realised he was real. He had been around from when she was a child, appearing randomly every few weeks or so. She thought it was weird that a random crow seemed to be quite attached to her. He even brought her various random stones, but they seemed to disappear by the next day when the bird was long gone. Maybe he just wanted to show her what he had found._

_“Have you got a name for him?”_

_“Yeah… Kuro.”_

_“For black?”_

_“Of course! It’s a cool name, Mama.”_

_“I’m not saying it isn’t.”_

_“It seemed like you were trying to say it isn’t!”_

_“Sarada…”_

_The two then burst into laughter, and the crow let out another noise that sounded similar to a giggle. At least, as well as he could for a crow.)_

Kuro, as always, settled into her arms. The bird would only stay for a few hours normally, and he often appeared at this time of night. Sarada smiled cheerily, but hoped the bird would flee when her father no doubt came for her. He was family to her, one thing that stayed constant and didn’t give a damn about who’s blood was running through her veins.

“Hey, Kuro.”

Kuro chirped his response.

.

.

.

Sasuke glared.

They had been quiet for a while, and Itachi seemed to be… well. Thinking over his words. Sasuke felt like he was in a dangerous situation, considering his older brother was definitely stronger than him.

 _‘He is distracted, so maybe I could use a well-aimed_ Chidori _against his throat…_ ’ He decided not to, considering his older brother was probably ready for that sort of thing. Why did his future-self want Itachi on his side? It was unexpected. Sasuke would have assumed that his other-self would have tried to cut him down where he stood. And the fact that _Kakashi_ allowed him in the Hokage’s office without being bound together by chakra strings? It just did not sit right with him. Had Itachi fooled them into believing that he was a good man, despite what he had done to the Uchiha clan? Surely not, they couldn’t be that stupid.

“I was never planning on being the one to tell you my secrets, Sasuke,” Itachi said, finally. “I thought I’d be well and truly dead, and that any secrets I had would be dead alongside me. It does make sense to some extent that the person who told you would have been the one who assisted me with…” he trailed off.

Sasuke knew straight away what he meant. He wasn’t alone? Of course not. That made _some_ sense. How _did_ Itachi exterminate all of the Uchiha within one night on his own?

His older brother let out an exhale, “I don’t really know where to start with it all, or to get you to understand why I did what I did that night. Do you remember your cousin, Shisui?”

Ah. Shisui. Those two had been like best friends, and Itachi had apparently murdered him to get the mangekyou sharingan. He frowned. Why would he mention Shisui?

“Yeah,” he said in a clipped tone, “Get on with it.”

“I never killed him to gain my mangekyou sharingan, that was… what was pushed by others. Shisui was ambushed by one of the elders: Danzo. He had one of his eyes stolen, and decided to end his life so my own eyes would awaken,” he said, staring ahead, “That is another way to gain the mangekyou, by seeing someone you care about die. While it is true that killing your best-friend could allow you to attain it, it more commonly happened when and Uchiha’s loved one dies in front of them. He gifted me his second eye, which is now transplanted within one of my crows for later use.”

Sasuke was already shocked. He had been _sure_ that Itachi had killed his friend; his own cousin. But no? That was not the case?

“Why would I believe anything you have to say, Itachi?” Sasuke said instead.

“Because what I say, may change your outlook on what you will do next, and how you can change our future,” he said, his tone somewhat emotionless, “I understand if you need a little time to… go through what I have to say, but I do hope that you will come to the right conclusion.”

“And what conclusion would that be?”

Itachi now gave him a look, his eyes bright with the mangekyou sharingan, the usual hurricane design had a kaleidoscope behind them, “The one where you do not make the same mistakes that your current self makes.”

Before Sasuke could look away, he was locked within a genjutsu, and he saw the world wrap into one that was crimson and black.


	7. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit late, my apologies. I have been really busy over the last week. Doesn't seem like my writer's block is going away, I still am a few chapters ahead, but I'll probably have to rework two of the ones that I wrote tonight as I'm not too happy with them. I might write a one-shot or something and see if that'll help, that and I wouldn't mind writing some smut or something ha.

Being trapped within Tsukuyomi was not what he had expected. Okay, maybe it was. Of course his brother would trap him in this terrible genjutsu _again_. However, instead of being tied up and watching his family die _over and over_ , this time he was free. It was in the same surroundings as before, just in shades of blood and ebony. He could not summon his own sharingan to dispel the jutsu, and his brother was in front of him. Sasuke felt rather small, but instead gave his brother a feral look.

“It is best that we discuss this within this space,” Itachi said, “It will be quicker, and you will have more time to understand everything.”

He gestured behind him, and that particular area showed flashes of what Sasuke assumed were Itachi’s memories. Still, Tsukuyomi could be manipulated to show false memories, so Sasuke did not feel like believing his older brother, considering how he had _lied_ numerous times. Some memories were _weird_ though, considering some seemed to not even be from Itachi himself…

“Before we get into anything, I want one thing to be clear. Konoha is my home, and I did everything I could to protect it, as well as you. I planned as well as I could, but… clearly what I had planned did not go how I wanted. You found out about what had occurred, but from the lips of someone who wanted to use you against the world,” Itachi said slowly, as if picking and choosing his words, “Obito Uchiha. He was assumed dead many years ago, even before you were born. He was kept alive by Senju cells with Madara Uchiha’s help.”

‘ _Madara… I’ve heard that name before,_ ’ Sasuke thought to himself frowning at the name he could not fully remember. He was someone important to the Uchiha clan – oh, he was the one who formed the Hidden Leaf with the first Hokage. Madara Uchiha was a person who was known throughout the Uchiha clan as being the most powerful member that had ever existed. He remembered hearing his father say that Itachi’s strengths could make way to him becoming as powerful as Madara once was. In the end, Madara had attacked the Hidden Leaf, but… Sasuke supposed that was where there may have been some distrust with the Uchiha, considering other Uchiha were apparently involved. But it happened ages ago, so surely no one was still thinking the same thing.

“Obito has his own reasons, that I am sure of, but I know that he is wanting to revive Madara and have him join the Akatsuki as it is now,” Itachi crossed his arms, “From what I’ve seen of Sasuke’s and his discussions, that was what the plan was. It did not seem like you were happy with the idea, but Obito promised you that the Hidden Leaf would get destroyed before then. I wouldn’t be surprised if Obito turned on you.”

Obito Uchiha. In one of the rare moments where Kakashi opened up to his squad, he mentioned that he was on a team that had an Uchiha on it. Sasuke does remember the name being similar to Obito, but there is always the chance that could have been another Uchiha.

“Yes, he was one of Kakashi-sama’s teammates,” Itachi said coolly.

Can he read my thoughts? That thought made Sasuke _very_ uncomfortable. He did not like the idea of his older brother being able to tell what he was thinking. Sasuke could not feel his head being rummaged through, but he was sure it was happening. He somewhat pictured it as someone going through files in a filing cabinet.

“You say you care about Konoha?” Sasuke started, eyes now on the ground, no longer crimson with his kekkei genkai. “Then why destroy the Uchiha?”

“It was a mission.”

‘ _A mission?_ ’ Sasuke thought, ‘ _So the village had something…_ ’

“Shisui had wanted to use a special jutsu – _Kotoamatsukami_. The jutsu is able to… quite literally… change a person’s opinions on everything. However, the jutsu has one major drawback. It can only be used once every ten years. Technically, Shisui could use it twice at the time that he had wanted to use the jutsu on _all_ of the Uchiha,” Itachi said, his own expression hardening, “But Danzo didn’t want that, and convinced the Third to not go through with it. Instead, they chose me to… extinguish the Uchiha, due to me being with the ANBU. I was their spy, after all. Otou-san never noticed.”

‘ _They set him up to kill the Uchiha? **What**_?’ Sasuke thought to himself, his face blank as he did not want to show _too_ much emotion at that point, ‘ _And he was a spy? Why would he want to… Why would he want to be a spy? Did he truly have something against the Uchiha?_ ’

“The Uchiha were planning a coup d’état, as they believed that _they_ should be the ones running the village, rather than the Hokage,” Itachi said, clearly reading his younger brother’s thoughts, “I was more well-suited to be a spy, considering I would, one day, become the head of Uchiha clan. Or at least, that was what I was being taught to become, even from a young age.”

Sasuke’s eyes grew defiant, “The Uchiha would not do such a thing.”

“Are you sure?”

Itachi’s eyes focused on the scene behind him, and Sasuke watched as his father spoke to another man.

(“ _It’s coming together, albeit rather slowly,” Fugaku said, arms crossed against his chest, his crimson eyes flickering from the left to the right – keeping an eye on intruders no doubt, “The village once belonged to us. The Hokage is no longer fit for the role.”_

 _The other man nodded, “I will support you until the end, Fugaku-sama.”_ )

Sasuke shook his head. “No, Otou-san would never—“

His older brother cut in, “You do not know our father as well as I do. While he was a good man, deep down, and wanted the village to be safe, the power of our eyes made him want more. We always want more.”

‘ _Power…_ ’

Itachi’s eyes portrayed sadness. Even in Sasuke’s head, it was clear that his brother did not want things to… end the way they did. Still, surely he could have done something else? Hell, why was _he_ kept alive when everyone else was slaughtered? That would have made things easier for him, definitely. Having to deal with the ghosts of one’s dead relatives was what drove Sasuke to want vengeance. He wanted their voices gone, so he could figure out what _he_ wanted, rather than having to deal with the heavy burden of revenge.

The avenger closed his eyes.

“There is more,” Itachi said, his voice soft now – as if he was nervous about what needed to be said next, “I would only do this task on one condition. The Hokage allowed me that much, and that is why you are standing in front of me breathing now. I would have turned against the Leaf before having to kill you. I wanted to keep you safe, and allow you to become the hero that took down the one who extinguished the Uchiha clan.”

Sasuke’s eyes opened in a rush, his eyes now focusing on his elder brother. His presence seemed… haunting. But cool and collected. His long hair flowed behind him, as if a draft decided that now would be the time to come through. Even in the dream world, weather seemed to affect them both. Itachi shook his head again.

“I never planned on allowing you to know of any of this, yet the masked man—“ an image appeared of a man wearing an orange mask, one eye slit poked through, with a crimson sharingan easy enough to see, “—Obito Uchiha told you everything. Though, lies were sprinkled in. He helped me with extinguishing the clan. He also knew that _you_ would be kept safe. I never realised that he was the key to a lot of things that happened, including the attack on Konoha by the Kyuubi. That was another reason that the elders and the Hokage viewed genocide as being a solution – they were afraid that _we_ were the ones that orchestrated that particular attack on the village. While I believe there is some truth, considering Uchiha Obito _was_ involved, I don’t think it had anything to do with our clan mates that resided within Konoha.”

Behind him, images that could not have been from Itachi’s point of view showed. A masked man was explaining everything to… well. He assumed himself. Sasuke’s eyes widened at the sudden realisation that his brother had _his_ eyes. How? _Why_? Sasuke had seen _very_ clearly that his other-self had a functioning sharingan and… whatever that _other_ thing was. Sasuke watched as the masked man gave his other-self information in regards to Itachi’s true intentions, as well as watching black flames appear from the man’s shoulder, no doubt from the mangekyou sharingan.

“I wholeheartedly believe that Obito is the one who crafted you into the man you become in this timeline,” his brother’s words rang through his ears. “I wonder if your view on things will change.”

A few emotions flooded through Sasuke. Grief, anger and straight-up homicidal intent. The third Hokage _allowed_ this? He allowed his brother to slaughter his own clan? What sort of leader did that!? Sasuke felt his anger peak when his sharingan activated without his permission, fury flooding through him like a poison. The pace of his heart picked up, and he swore he could see red hinge around the edges. The Uchiha were slaughtered because of an order for the very village that _apparently_ protected him? And they _wanted_ him to go after his brother.

Itachi swept forward, and placed a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, “I’m sure your feelings were the same then, but what you do _now_ can change things. I wanted you to know so you could _hopefully_ make the right choice.”

Sasuke brushed him off, “They killed our clan, Itachi! And they made _you_ do it? How can you not be angry!?”

“A shinobi is a tool,” he said coolly. “All I wanted was peace, and the Uchiha would have found themselves in the way of that. Even if the main members orchestrating the mutiny were gone, it still would have happened. That I am sure of. There was too much unrest between the village and the Uchiha. There was a reason why we were located further away from the village,” he let out a breath. “I had already seen the effects of war, and I did not want to wish it upon the next generation.”

The avenger growled out, “Who gives a shit? What sort of system allows an entire bloodline to be wiped out from _fear_!?”

Itachi’s eyes narrowed, “Do you _really_ think that Otou-san would have stopped with the Hidden Leaf? There would have been an all-out war, Sasuke.”

Sasuke paused. _War_. That was what his brother was afraid of.

“Otou-san’s wants spilled onto you. There’s a reason why there’s war now. You _allowed_ your hatred to evolve to such a point to where you would even hurt those closest to you.”

The two brother’s stared at each-other in silence.

Itachi spoke up once again after a few moments, “Are you going to allow this knowledge to turn you into the monster you saw earlier today? Are you going to allow all the atrocities to be committed once more? Just for this so-called vengeance that you so desperately need?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, “What does it matter? The Leaf _does_ deserve to be punished for its crimes.”

The younger brother watched as Itachi let out a hollow laugh, “Then nothing will change. You _will_ do what you did to Sakura, and you will kill Naruto.”

… Sakura. Naruto.

His two teammates that he harmed the most.

He shook his head.

An avenger doesn’t have bonds –

He couldn’t.

He had to… He had to avenge his clan.

But.

Was it worth it?

Sasuke’s eyes flickered up.

“ _This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”_ It was his own voice but…

“ _N—No! Not like this, Sasuke-kun_! _P—Please!_ ”

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, now realising what was taking place in front of him.

‘ _No—I don’t want to hear…!_ ’

“This is what you’ll do,” Itachi said, his voice hard and unsympathetic now, “Why not _hear_ what you’ll do, then?” cruelty dripped from the bottom of his tone, a voice he had only heard a handful of times come from his brother’s mouth.

And the vision appeared in Sasuke’s head.

Green and pink were the first things he saw, and tears and—

“ _Enough_ , Itachi!”

And it faded away as quickly as it came. ‘ _I don’t want to see. I don’t…_ ’

The two brothers fell to silence once more.

.

.

.

The genjutsu faded. And his brother was still standing in front of him, disappointment evident in his eyes.

“I didn’t want to… subject you to that, Sasuke,” Itachi said, “But… that is one thing that you did before your eyes were replaced with mine.”

‘ _So… that’s what happened._ ’

He knew. He knew damn well that—

_Sakura._

He couldn’t… surely… no, he just… He did not know what to think. It hurt. It hurt so damn much that he had done that. It hurt her a lot more than that, though. He hadn’t even seen everything, and he…

“If things continue along down this path, the same thing will no doubt happen,” Itachi said, voice now clipped. “We may as well send you _both_ back without your memories. Nothing can be changed. If hatred is what is going to continue to drive you, then there is no hope for any of us.”

Sasuke looked down, feeling numb.

‘ _No… I don’t want Sakura to—‘_

But… the village needed to pay.

“I do not have the memories of what happened with Naruto, but…” Itachi shook his head, “I am sure that is not much better.”

Sasuke needed time to think – ‘ _Time isn’t a luxury I have right now._ ’ What could he do? The village quite literally fucked everyone in the Uchiha clan over! But would he still allow himself to _hurt_ Sakura like that? To kill Naruto? Neither of those things were something he wanted. Even fighting Naruto in the Valley of the End, he did not want to murder the boy he considered to be his best friend. It had been something that had crossed his mind, sure, but in the end… it wasn’t something he wanted, even for the power of the mangekyou sharingan. He did not want to follow in his brother’s footsteps, after all. Yet, clearly, what he knew about Itachi and _that night_ was _wrong_. Of course the village would keep it secret from him, they did not want their indiscretions to be known by _anyone._ Particularly, since they slaughtered the entirety of the Uchiha clan. Itachi may have committed the act, along with Obito, but… in the end, it was either that, full-blown war or…

Itachi lowered himself to Sasuke’s height, “Danzo had threatened me with _your_ life. I do not wish to regret not taking you down as well… but...”

‘ _None of this would have happened, if he had killed me then…_ ’

It was unsaid, but Sasuke could hear his brother’s regrets. Itachi viewed it all as being his own fault as well, that Sasuke could tell – even though he was both furious and in agony.

.

.

.

“Naruto,” Hinata reached for his arm, “I need to speak with you, before you return back to the Uchiha compound. It’s important. Please.”

The Uzumaki boy was shell-shocked still, with everything. Itachi was here and living, and there was the ever-present threat of Sasuke striking in a week’s time. He had been heading home after stress-eating a helpful serving of ramen. Hinata had spotted him, and had asked to chat for a moment. Whatever it was, the Hyuuga wanted to talk to him in private. She lead him to a more quieter part of the street. While Kakashi had not announced anything at this point, a dark aura surrounded the town. He had his face covered once again, and no one could recognise him he hoped. The chakra that had appeared in the town had no doubt alerted both shinobi and civilian. The evil Sasuke had not hidden an ounce of himself, as if he wanted people to attack him right then and there.

Hinata was very upset, no doubt hearing of everything from her son. The boy had probably told her everything that he could. She was filled with horror and grief, and was no doubt worried for her child.

“I’ve spoken to Sakura-chan already,” Hinata said, her breath shallow, “She’ll take Boruto with her when her and Sarada make a run for it. I’m sure that they will be taking you and Sasuke-san as well.”

Her words were just above a whisper.

“I need you to do something for me. It’s important,” she said, pushing her hair away from her face, “I need you to remember. I’ve worked it out correctly, I’m fairly sure and Sakura-chan agrees with what I’ve said about it. I need you to do this, because my son _needs_ exist still.”

Was Hinata going to… A lot of responsibility dawned on Naruto. She was—

“September 4th. He was conceived then, please—“ Hinata dropped her head, “—please let my son exist, _please_.”

Naruto had his mouth slightly gaping. He needed to… He needed to do _that_ with Hinata? He was eighteen, from what she had said before—that was around five years from then. And she was… seventeen. That was so young but—

Her eyes looked watery, “I know this is a lot to ask, but—“

“I’ll… I’ll do it, Hinata-chan,” he said softly, looking at his feet, “If that’s… what you want.”

He wanted Boruto to exist too, but he wanted to be a father to the boy this time. That was something he wanted a lot. Sure, he was a kid now, but he understood the gravity to her words, and his existence as well.

“Thank you, Naruto,” she wiped her eyes, “Thank you. I know this is a lot. I—“

“I promise you. Boruto will exist. You know I don’t break my promises, right?”

She gave him a watery smile, “I know, Naruto, I know.”


	8. I Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So TLDR: been going through shit; update schedule is down the drain until I catch up some more. Thanks for the lovely comments, they really do bring a smile to my depressed ass self.

He was lost. Very lost. What could he do? Everything was somehow even more _fucked_. His head felt like it was going to explode. Naruto had come back to the Uchiha compound, looking out of it as well, but at the same time determined. Sasuke just felt… broken. What was the right thing to do? He _should_ avenge his clan, and he understood somewhat why his other-self was wanting to take over things. But he had stooped a lot lower than Sasuke would ever allow himself to get to, at least, that was what he had hoped.

Naruto was sitting in front of him, on their newly purchased futons—

( _“What do you think of_ this _one?” Naruto asked, pointing at one that was_ way _too expensive for what it is._

_“Don’t waste money, dobe.”_

_A huff. “Fine.”_ )

He was babbling on about some nonsense that Sasuke could not find himself to give a damn about.

“Oh yeah, what happened with you and Itachi?”

A quick glance with the sharingan, and Naruto knew everything, and like him, he looked puzzled and lost. “Hey—wait. What? The village did that? What the fuck?” he then looked disturbed, “Did you _seriously_ just show me everything with a _look_. What the hell? When did you learn that?”

“I’ve always been able to do that,” Sasuke rolled his eyes, finding himself a little at ease with Naruto’s presence. “I’ve just never _needed_ to.”

Naruto let out a groan, “I _so_ don’t get your sharingan.”

“That’s because you’re a dobe.”

“Oh, shut up _teme_.”

The two sat in silence for a while, seemingly both in thought.

Naruto broke the silence (typical) with, “Hinata told me Boruto’s conception date.”

Sasuke spared him a glance, “Yeah?”

The blond was oddly serious, frowning to himself, his arms crossed. “She wants me to…” It went unsaid, but both kids knew what he was referring to. This felt… oddly manipulative. Of course it was, they would have to plan for her pregnancy. Or at least, Naruto would.

Sakura, for now, had not said anything about Sarada’s conception date. As it was, Sasuke knew better to ask about it, considering how she reacted to when he mentioned that he wanted the young girl to exist. It still bothered him though. He wondered if Itachi would know, but the thought of talking to his older brother again about _anything_ made him feel prickly. For now, he would leave it. If Sakura wanted him to know, surely she would say something? But at the same time, he knew he didn’t want to leave it until last minute… but he did not want to force the woman to answer.

Dark eyes flickered onto the blond, “Are you going to…?”

Naruto looked nervous, “It’s… what she wants.”

“How do you feel about it all?” Sasuke asked.

“I mean…” he shook his head, “Don’t change the subject. How are _you_ doing?”

“You saw. I don’t know how to feel…” Sasuke glanced away, not liking talking about his feelings, but this was probably better than bottling it up and quite literally exploding.

The Uzumaki crossed his arms, “I don’t… I don’t think the village should be held responsible for it. The old geezer and the elders were more so at fault, than anyone who didn’t even _know_.”

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, “The _village_ as a whole blamed Itachi.”

“Yeah, but… they don’t know,” Naruto glanced away, “I’m sure it was heavily under wraps by the Hokage.”

Nodding his head mutely, he dropped down onto his pillow and rolled to his side. It was starting to get late. “I’m going to sleep.”

“But—“

“Shut up.”

.

.

.

Two days later, Sakura was within the kitchen, chatting to Itachi. Itachi had went away for a day to calm his own nerves, she guessed. Everything was in the open now.

“So, he knows, then?” Sakura asked, her eyes shifting uncomfortably. “How… How did he react?”

The older brother let out a sigh, “Not positively, but not as bad as it could have been. I believe he has a lot to think about now.”

She glanced over at him, “Do you think he can change – in your honest opinion?”

“I… would like to hope so. I wouldn’t like to believe that the future is set in stone. I just hope that he comes to the right conclusion…” Itachi let out after a moment of quietness surrounded the two of them.

Sakura knew that Itachi would tell the truth, after all. Even though both of the boys had only been here for four days, now. Itachi had learned of it when he had come to report to the village. Itachi would sit around now, and await Sasuke’s (and no doubt Obito’s) arrival. Itachi was one of the few that would be powerful enough to defeat his brother, after all he also had the eternal mangekyou sharingan, minus a rinnegan. But Itachi had a lot more experience with the Uchiha’s bloodline.

( _“Where did you find these?” Itachi asked, touching the bandages against his eyes._

_Sakura had only just transplanted the eyes over. His eyes did not return with him, when he came to life, as Sasuke had them now. While he was as powerful as he once was, one thing that was missing was his bloodline limit. The sickness—tuberculosis—was also long gone, considering there had been an outbreak of it about a year prior, so a cure was developed and the disease was practically eradicated._

_“… They didn’t destroy them. We found them when we stormed a base in the Land of Iron,” she said, looking away._

_“Ah.”_

_Itachi stood up, and faced the woman. “I know what he did, Sakura-san.”_

_Sakura shot him a pained look, even if he could not see it._

_“… These eyes seem to hold his memories. I’m sure my own eyes have shown him my past as well…” Itachi said, seemingly musing, “How is that daughter of yours?”_

_“She’s well. She’s only six months old,” Sakura smiled to herself, “She’s very…”_

_Itachi chuckled at this, “I may not interact with her myself, but I do look forward to seeing the person she will become.”_

_Sakura nodded mutely, holding her hand against her chest. Itachi dropped his head down. “I will be around, if she needs. I can’t… show myself to her, but I will protect her and watch over her. It’s what the girl deserves.”_

_“Thank you, Itachi-san.”)_

The two heard bare feet slapping against the wooden floors, and Sarada made her way into the kitchen. Heavy bags were beneath her eyes, and she adjusted her glasses quietly. She yawned, and Itachi noticed that her hair was _very_ messy. She had not slept well. He couldn’t blame her. She was probably afraid of what was to come. While Kakashi had yet to announce the arrival of two war criminals, plus no doubt an army, there was a lot of fear spread through the streets. Most shinobi around chuunin rank knew, but Kakashi was unsure of _where_ he could evacuate everyone. He had gotten into contact with Orochimaru, in a hope that maybe he could send his village to his underground bunkers, but… it was not guaranteed that it would happen. Orochimaru had once said that he had also revived Itachi fully, due to the possibility that his own son, Mitsuki could be raised within the village.

It seemed that the so-called heartless snake cared for the boy, even if he did not say it or show it. Maybe he wanted the boy to have a different life to what Orochimaru has. Kakashi, while not happy with having someone close to the hebi sannin in the village, allowed it. After all, the truth of Itachi’s story was validated when Kakashi went through the personal archives of Danzo. While the man was secretive, one of his ex-ROOT operatives knew how to decode the files. Sai was his name, from what Itachi had remembered.

It was early in the morning, and Itachi had stayed away from his young brother. He did not want to force him into making a decision, but time wasn’t exactly on their side. He has had over twenty-four hours to think everything through.

“Hey, Itachi,” Sarada yawned, glancing at the tall man, “Um…”

His attention focused onto his niece. While he had not been there to personally see the girl grow, he had seen snippets from pictures within Sakura’s house, as well as his own spying on her when he would return from trailing Sasuke. He cared a lot for the girl, and understood that she wanted to one day become a Hokage. He hoped that her dream would be realised one day, but the way things were going now, he was unsure if that was a dream that she would be allowed to fulfil. Sarada may be their last hope, along with her teammates Mitsuki and Boruto.

Sakura’s attention was on the girl too. She was not wearing her lab coat, instead wearing combat gear. Rather than the usual grey colours, she was wearing a red tank top with a zip down the middle, fishnets connecting from her upper arm down to her fingers, and black leather gloves. Along with this, she was wearing dark pants, with combat boots. Itachi was also wearing combat gear, with his hair tied into a neat braid.

“What is it, Sarada?” Itachi asked, curious as to what the girl wanted to say.

“Sorry if this is weird,” she glanced down, blushing slightly, “Do… do you mind if I call you oji-san?”

He blinked. Once. Twice. Oh.

 _Oh._ He felt his heart almost flutter at that. Almost.

“If… that makes you happy, Sarada,” he said, giving her a small smile.

“Cool, thank you, oji-san.”

Sakura giggled behind him, “Aw, Sarada.”

The girl rolled her eyes. That’s when Itachi noticed it. A crow on her shoulder…

The man let out a low whistle, and the bird rustled to life. Its attention solely on Itachi.

“Where did you find that, Sarada?”

Sakura gave Itachi a look, “His name’s Kuro. Why do you ask? Is he one of yours?”

Itachi nodded, “Yeah…”

Kuro chirped in response. Normally, the whistle would call the bird over, but he seemed happy on the girl’s shoulder. Itachi had not noticed the bird right away, which was odd, but he supposed he was just checking on Sarada herself.

“When did he arrive here?” It was weird, the bird—the bird might have noticed _who_ Sarada was, and—

A bird realising that? Well. Stranger things _have_ happened before.

This time, Sarada answered, yawning before speaking, “A couple of years ago. He’s yours? Wow.”

“You didn’t have him check on Sarada, right?”

“No, he… got away. I was going to destroy it.”

Sarada gave her uncle a feral look, “Do _not_ do that.”

“The crow holds a hidden power, and I didn’t want it to fall into Obito’s or Sasuke’s hands,” Itachi answered coolly, “Still. This might work in our favour. _Maybe_.”

Sakura tilted her head at this, while Sarada just looked outright puzzled.

.

.

.

Kakashi had called for both boys to return to his office. Within the room was the Hokage, Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke. Shikamaru looked flustered, while Kakashi watched on with a knowing stare.

“When you were both transported here, it happened with the _chidori_ and the _rasengan_ , yes?” Shikamaru asked, “Was there anything else, maybe something affecting your chakras?”

Naruto tapped his stomach wearily, while Sasuke found himself scratching the curse mark.

Instantly, the Hokage understood, “The kyuubi and the curse mark…”

Shikamaru nodded. “I can’t imagine either of you have any control over this, yes?”

The two boys shook their heads in unison. Naruto did not like the fact that Shikamaru clearly knew that he was the kyuubi container. He could feel the fox sneering within him – ‘ **You only survived because of _my_ power, don’t forget that, brat _._** ’ He snarled. Naruto had not heard from the kyuubi for a couple of days, and hearing his voice made him shake slightly. He had needed extra power in order to keep up with Sasuke’s demonic form, but… He did not like relying on the beast that resided within his stomach. The feeling of the kyuubi’s dark chakra always made him unhappy, considering the beast was evil…

Kakashi sighed, “Naruto hasn’t made friends with Kurama just yet.”

‘ **What? He knows my name** _?_ ’ the kyuubi snapped, ‘ **Shitty Hokage with his shitty sharingan.** ’

Kakashi pulled up his _hitai-ate_ , revealing his sharingan, and Naruto felt himself pulled in. It was within the blink of an eye. One moment he was standing in front of Kakashi, the next he was beside the man staring at a cage. The fox was facing them, his crimson eyes narrow.

“Kurama, I understand that it’s hard, but we need your help,” Kakashi said, his tone soft and soothing – a weird tone to be coming from Naruto’s lazy sensei.

While Naruto had seen flashes of the kyuubi – of _Kurama_ he knew that he did not want to be in this space for any longer. He let out a shrill growl, glaring at the fox that was stuck behind the thick, iron bars of its cage. The beast had its arms tangled in chains.

‘ **Why would I help you, scarecrow?** ’ Kurama growled his angered response, ‘ **So what if the kid gets killed, it means I’m free from his stupidity.** ’

“You die as well, you _know_ that,” Kakashi said in response, crossing his arms, “You and Naruto _do_ become friends in the future, that is the only reason I’m taking a chance in talking to you now. _My_ Naruto spoke of you highly.”

Kurama rolled his eyes, before focusing on the short blond, ’ **As if I would find myself friends with this brat.** ’

The Hokage sighed, “I do forget how hard you are to talk to at times. Just realise that you _will_ become friends with this ‘brat’, and you _will_ lend him your power one day, without wanting to take him over to escape.”

Naruto glanced at Kakashi, “I become friends with it!?”

Once more, Kakashi pulled them out of the bubbly prison and they were back in the office, as if nothing had happened.

“We don’t fully understand how to control the curse mark, so that’s not an option either…”

“What about Boruto and Sarada?” Shikamaru asked, “Doesn’t Boruto know the _rasengan_? I’m sure you can train Sarada the _chidori_.”

Kakashi looked glum, “I wasn’t planning on showing her how to use it,” his eyes flickered over to Sasuke, “Not with how it has been used, in _his_ hands.”

“Well, you might have to in order to send them back. We need more chakra than what these guys can do _like this_ , with Sarada and Boruto, it should be just enough, according to my calculations,” Shikamaru said, “There’s no other way. If the fox isn’t going to cooperate, and Sasuke can’t willingly go into the second stage, then this is our only option.”

“Wait, you want the kids to come back with us?”

“No, that’ll cause too many issues,” Kakashi responded, “But… if you do it at the same time in proximity to each-other…”

“A portal should open that both of you can go into, and Sarada and Boruto will remain. I don’t think they would even be able to go _into_ it, considering what happened with you two was an anomaly,” Shikamaru said, nodding to himself, “There must have been something _weird_ happening with the dimensions that day, which made a hole appear in the time-space continuum.”

Naruto blinked. ‘ _What? This makes my head hurt._ ’ ‘ **He’s saying that the kids shouldn’t follow you both back, fucking idiot. Just take it as it is.** ’

Why was the kyuubi – Kurama? – being talkative now. Naruto did not like it.

Sasuke spoke up now, “That just seems coincidental. ‘Weird dimensions’.”

Both Shikamaru and Kakashi shrugged, “Honestly, considering there _are_ other beings living in other dimensions, we aren’t really surprised,” Shikamaru said in a clipped tone, leaving no room for questions.

Naruto was just… confused. Still…

“As for you two, I’ve decided on what is going to happen.”

Naruto’s ears perked up at this.

“And?” Sasuke asked, voice soft now, “Are we going back with our memories?”

“Well, it depends on _your_ answer. I know that I’m sending Naruto back with his memories intact, as I believe _he_ can change things. But for you? I am still unsure,” Kakashi said, resting his hand on the green cover of a book on his desk ‘ _Icha Icha’_. Naruto felt his eyes roll. _Of course._

.

Sasuke glared at the Hokage. An answer? What sort of answer was he looking for? Sasuke supposed it depended on the _question_ he was about to be asked. He straightened up, his spine clicking – ‘ _Ow. Did Sarada get a hit on me?_ ’.

“How do you feel about the Leaf?”

‘ _Thought he might ask about that..._ ’

“And don’t try and lie,” Shikamaru said, voice quiet but at the same time deadly, “It’s pretty easy to tell when a little brat is lying.”

This time, the Uchiha glared at the Nara. In response, the man just lit a cigarette and took a deep puff. He really had no presence around these guys… Normally, his glare would stop anyone from antagonising him.

Kakashi side-eyed the Nara, no doubt not appreciating him smoking in the Hokage mansion, but… well…

“What sort of question is that!?” Naruto shouted, loud as always.

“It makes sense as to what _you_ would answer, but Sasuke is different. I’m sure he’s told you what he’s found out, but…” Kakashi did not finish his sentence, “It’s up to you, Sasuke. Are you willing to let things settle, and become the way they are now—“ “Teme won’t beat me this time!” Kakashi shot a look at the Uzumaki, who went mute very quickly, “—or try and change things for the better, whether it be for yourself… or for others…?”

Sasuke had the last two days to think over everything. He still felt like he did not have enough time to think things over, but… He did wonder if it was worth trying to ‘forgive’ the Leaf for what they had done to his clan, in order to prevent the shit future that they had now. But… part of him wanted to gain power in order to make the village pay. However, that thought was blown off from seeing Sakura’s face _like that_ in the genjutsu that his brother had shown him. But… Could he really let it go? Sasuke wasn’t sure. He really wasn’t. Would the darkness that dwelled within him drag him down, like it had done to his other-self? Perhaps, but…

His eyes were on the floor as he thought. The silence was suffocating, even he could feel that. Sasuke did not know how to answer, in such a way where Shikamaru would not accuse him of lying. He believed Shikamaru was telling the truth, that he could tell when someone was lying. The man was a genius; it wasn’t a far-fetched idea that he knew how to read people’s body language and whatnot. Hell, thanks to his sharingan, Sasuke could often tell if someone was telling a lie to him, so…

His thoughts were plagued with the deaths of his clan, but at the same time he _saw_ to an extent what he would become, following the path forward. He wanted power, sure, as his goals _needed_ him to get stronger. But…

Was it worth it?

Was it _really_ worth it?

“I don’t…” Sasuke glanced away, “I can’t forgive the Leaf, not right now. But I don’t have any intentions to destroy it.”

“Could that change?” Kakashi asked, leaning forward, hands under his chin. “Is that something that will change, the moment we allow you to return, knowing all of this?”

The Uchiha shrugged, “I can’t… I can’t promise that. I’ve barely had time to _register_ everything that Itachi told me. I still feel that it could be a lie, but at the same time…” he shook his head, “The village isn’t one of my concerns at this point.”

‘ _Hell, Itachi isn’t either,_ ’ Sasuke thought to himself, ‘ _Could I… Could I go after him still, like I had planned?_ ’

The Hokage leaned back and clicked his tongue. “I’ll send you back, as the way you are now. I’ll allow it,” his eyes shot to Shikamaru, “Can you talk to Sakura, and let me know when Sarada is available? If she is, tell her to meet me at the training grounds in an hour.”

Shikamaru nodded, and bowed. He was about to head out before he shot a look to the Hokage over his shoulder, “He isn’t lying. He seems conflicted, but I don’t sense any negativity towards you or the Leaf at the moment, so… it could be worth the risk, for now,” his eyes flickered over to Naruto, “But… if it comes to it… you need to kill him. I don’t care about the bond you two apparently share, it’s not worth losing everything and everyone like this,” his eyes showed sadness, “Suna was the last to go, before us.”

Sasuke tilted his head at this, something akin to sadness and anger flickered over the man’s face, before he waved and left.

The Uchiha’s attention returned to Kakashi, who was now writing something out, before doing a quick hand sign. The note closed neatly, and a seal appeared on the back of it, from what Sasuke could see.

“Naruto, come closer for a moment,” he said softly.

Naruto did as he was told, not making a sound. Kakashi handed the letter over. “This is a letter of amnesty. This particular sign,” he pointed at the unique seal, “is only known by the Hokages of past, present and future. It’ll allow you to… well… do _things_ that may not exactly reflect the laws of the Land of Fire. It’s… It’s a last-resort, if you are needing to be forgiven of anything you might do or _need_ to do.”

“What do you mean? We won’t break any laws—“

Kakashi shrugged, “Look, you don’t know that now. You may have to. It’s just something that might come in handy, for you both,” his lone eye was now on Sasuke, “I do hope you don’t wreck this chance that we have given you, but… I do have to place some faith in you. Your name is included in this.”

So he also had a chance at forgiveness… if things…

He nodded. He needed to think of what he needed to do. What he and _Naruto_ needed to do.

.

.

.

Sarada had arrived fifteen minutes earlier than what her sensei had asked. She stretched her arms, before going to her legs. Her mama had always said that it’s best to stretch before training, but to be aware that during battle you may not have that time. While she was a lowly genin, she had done bits and pieces for her mother when her mother was on missions. Normally, this would be frowned upon, but, well… Considering there were less shinobi due to the war, then…

Kuro chirped and plucked her hair. He was hanging around _a lot_. Maybe he wanted food. She had been feeding him, of course… but… He normally only was around for a couple of hours, and would come by a couple of times a week. Maybe he sensed her feelings, and wanted to comfort her.

Academy students were only ever allowed on missions with jonin _plus_ shinobi. Her mother was considered kage level, even if she was a jonin. She knew her mother worked with ANBU sometimes, but was never enrolled. Rarely, Sarada would accompany missions that may need the use of the sharingan to find illusions or to find hidden seals. It had only happened two or three times, and they were very easy missions – from what her mother said. Hell, there was no combat in any of them. She remembered one time where she had to find a genjutsu that hid away medical herbs that were _very_ rare, and could only be accessed by sharingan-users or those particularly exceptional in genjutsu skills.

Normally, her sensei would be late by quite a bit, but for once _he_ was early. He was reading his typical book, and turned a page before placing a bookmark in the centre and closing it. He shoved it inside one of his pockets, and regarded the girl coolly.

“Hey, sensei,” she said, unable to be as bubbly as normal.

She had been surprised when her teacher wanted a training session, considering she was thinking he would be busy with planning for her father’s arrival. But… here he was. Normally, she would be elated at getting to train with him, but now? She just felt dread. What did he need her to do?

Kakashi had taught her many jutsu previously, including the signature _katon_ from the Uchiha clan. It had been taught to her when she was about eight, and she picked it up relatively easily.

“Sarada,” he nodded, before giving her a small smile under his mask, “I have something to teach you, but I do need to ask a favour of you. I need you to help Sasuke and Naruto get back.”

“My eyes aren’t advanced enough for that,” she said instantly. She knew the _next_ level of the sharingan – the mangekyou – could hold incredible abilities, but she has not met the conditions for her eyes to activate like that.

He chuckled, “No. That’s not what I meant. I need you to learn a jutsu called the _chidori_.”

The girl watched as the man did a few hand-signs, before cupping his wrist and she watched as sparks darted out of his palm before it became an orb with sparks dancing off of it, and the sound of birds. It was… kind of pretty. In a way. She watched as the jutsu was undone, and he shook his hand before smiling once more under his mask.

“It… looks really cool,” she said, activating her sharingan so she could memorize the signs.

“It’s… sort of a failed attempt on the _rasengan_. I wanted a _raiton_ styled _rasengan_. But… well. You need the sharingan to use it. Luckily for you,” he crossed his arms, “You have it.”

‘ _Oh! That’s even cooler!_ ’

He walked closer to her, “Though, for me to teach you this. I need you to promise me one thing.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t ever try and cut down anyone you care about with it,” he said, his tone close to one of sadness, “The _chidori_ is stained in the blood of those who are innocent. It’s a jutsu that… well. I don’t want to be like that anymore.”

Sarada’s eyes widened, before she shook her head. “You know me, I would never do such a thing. My teammates are my _family_ , even that dumbass Boruto.”

Kakashi chuckled at this, his eye closing to show that he was smiling, “I know. But I need you to know. I want this to be the redemption of the _chidori_. It’s a move to _protect_ your loved ones, not to slay them.”

The young Haruno girl nodded her head. “I understand, sensei.”

.

.

.

“So _that’s_ what was in you,” Sasuke said, glancing over at his blond teammate.

“Y—Yeah… I didn’t think sensei would know, honestly,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Kyuubi or Kurama is something I’ve had ever since I was a kid. I think that’s why people were scared of me and hated me. I don’t get it as much anymore, but I know that they wished I wasn’t in the village.”

The Uchiha pursed his lips, shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter what they think. That fox hasn’t changed who you are, I guess. So just ignore them, it doesn’t matter what they think, just what you do.”

Naruto blinked. “Are you… okay?”

Ah, right. Sasuke was a boy of few words, mostly. He usually didn’t try to comfort others. Yet, here he was giving his friend advice. He was getting soft, that was for sure. Maybe that was why he wanted to so badly seek Orochimaru. He figured if he cut off his bonds with _everyone_ , he would come out of it stronger. Part of him disagreed, as his stronger moments _were_ protecting those he cared about, but… He did not want anyone to be hurt by his vengeance, particularly if they had nothing to do with it. Neither Naruto nor Sakura, hell even Kakashi to an extent, had anything to do with his clan’s downfall. But finding out Itachi was not the classic villain he had thought he was, confused his thoughts even further.

He knew that things needed to be changed when they got back. He also knew that the Akatsuki were a major threat, so maybe it was worth going after them to make sure the current future still doesn’t happen. Obito and – when or if Madara has been revived – were his new targets. He was sure that Obito had something to do with it, Itachi had said so.

“Just…” he looked away. No, he had said too much.

The Uzumaki nodded. “Still… what’s the plan?”

The plan. The one that they needed in order to change this horrendous future.

Sasuke looked down, “I… need to think some more. One thing I know is that we need to take down the Akatsuki.”

“And Itachi as well?”

The Uchiha went silent.

.

.

.

Sakura had come by the training grounds to see what Kakashi was up to, and she knew he had an answer for whether or not the boys would be sent back with their memories intact.

“So you have given them a letter of amnesty?” Sakura asked, “And Sasuke obviously knows now. What do you think, sensei?”

Kakashi would normally brush her off whenever she called him ‘sensei’, but it was sort of comforting. She was the last of his failed team, and she shone brighter than any star. She was both a healer and a slayer, a medical ninja that could both heal and jump into battle. Medics were normally way down to the back – never take down a healing mage, after all. His eyes narrowed on her, she was deep in thought obviously and deciding on what _she_ needs to do.

“I don’t think Sasuke will attack in… well, his time,” Kakashi said very carefully, “but he was honest that his opinion could change. It has been a lot for him to hear, but at least he heard the true truth from his own brother, rather than Obito.”

Sakura nodded numbly, biting her lip. “I think…”

He tilted his head.

“I have to go.”

“Do what you must.”

Sarada watched the conversation with a puzzled expression, “Mama?”

“It’s fine, sweetheart. I’ll meet you at home. Keep practicing with your sensei, Sarada.”

.

.

.

Sakura knew that she had been given a cruel hand of cards that pointed out her future. And even her daughter was now very much feeling the effects of it, which upset her. All she wanted for her daughter was for her to live a happy life.

She made her way over to the Uchiha district, where she was sure Sasuke was now, no doubt thinking over everything he has discovered. She remembered as kids that he always was _thinking_ if something big came out.

She headed towards the door and knocked.

Within moments, the door was opened and she was her rambunctious blond teammate. He blinked and then grinned. “Hey, Sakura-chan. Me and the teme are about to make something to eat, did you want anything?”

Smiling, she raised her hand and simply uttered a ‘no’.

He looked a bit saddened, but Sakura could not find it in her to eat at the moment. She was too highly strung and stressed, and hunger wasn’t really something that was being felt, even though she had not eaten since yesterday. She would try and eat something small for dinner tonight, but she just could not feel anything similar to having an appetite. Stress often did that, after all.

“Is Sasuke-kun around?” she asked.

“Yeah, he’s just slicing up some veggies,” his nose crinkled up, “Apparently we need to eat healthier. Ramen is a good enough diet though, that has veggies in it?”

The girl rolled her eyes, “Yes it does, but when it’s coated in salt it’s probably not that healthy, Naruto. You really need to eat better or…” she grinned at him, “You won’t get taller than me.”

“Oh _come on_!” he snapped, “I bet I’m taller than you.”

She held a finger to her chin, “Huh… I don’t really recall. I’m fairly sure that you stay the same size—“

“ **Fine**!” he shouted, raising a fist up, “I’ll _try_ and eat better from now on, so I can get taller than you and the princess in the kitchen.”

She giggled in response. She had missed the banter that they used to have, and it made her feel a little less nervous with what she was about to ask Sasuke.

“Anyways, do you mind?” she asked softly, gesturing behind him.

“Yeah, it’s cool. Just be careful, we have cleaned up _most_ things, but there might be glass still around, so keep your boots on, ‘ttbayo.”

Sakura nodded.

.

.

.

Sasuke finished chopping up the onions, and washed his hands before rubbing his eyes. Onion was horrible. These were some pretty gnarly ones, and he felt the pin prick of tears from the stupid things. He left them until last, so he did not have to deal with them. On the plate was an assortment of tomato, lettuce, red onion, spring onion and red cabbage. He’d also sliced up some chicken into nice pieces, and coated them in a tiny bit of seasoned flour. They were going to make a chicken salad for dinner. Naruto was in charge of the cheese, two different types – parmesan and mozzarella. He also made up a creamy sauce with a hint of lemon, Sasuke was astounded the kid knew how to make a dressing.

He had heard the door knock, and Naruto bounded towards the door, so he was alone for the moment.

“Hey, teme! Sakura-chan wanted to talk to you!”

He turned around and saw the woman there. She was wearing the combat clothing he had previously seen her in, but was now wearing a white lab coat around her too.

She smiled wearily. “Can I speak to you, in private?”

He inwardly gulped. He did _not_ need any more bombshells dropped on him.

“Oh, come on! Why am I always left out, ‘ttbayo!”

“It’s a… bit private, Naruto. I’m sure Sasuke will fill you in, but…”

“ _Oh!_ It’s not anything bad, is it?”

“No—No. Well. I don’t think so.”

Sasuke tilted his head at this, before he gave Naruto a look. “This is between us.”

“… _Fine_.”

He turned heel and headed out to the sun room, where their futons laid. Sakura glanced down at him, and Sasuke was wondering why she came all the way out here to see him. She looked around and gave a small smile, “It looks quite clean in here.”

“Ah,” Sasuke nodded. “There was a lot of damage here…”

It was true. The two boys had spent their free time cleaning up the place. Naruto complained to begin with, but seemed to understand why Sasuke wanted his childhood home somewhat clean. Besides, it meant that the two did not live in filth. The sunroom, one of the bathrooms and the kitchen were fairly clean. They had began to clean up the living room, but saw no point now since they would be returning to their own time in a mere few days. Sasuke wondered if everything was set for them to go, or if they were going to do everything fairly last minute.

“Itachi spoke to me about everything,” she said softly, resting her hand against the dining room table before sitting down, with one leg over the other, “Are you okay?”

Sasuke shrugged. “I believe him well enough. I wouldn’t think Kakashi would allow him to be within the village if it weren’t true.”

Sakura nodded her head. “Yeah, him appearing scared me a bit. I thought he was here for Sarada.”

‘ _Oh_ ,’ Sasuke thought. ‘ _It would be a bit horrifying to see the man who killed the entire Uchiha clan._ ’

“Obviously, nothing happened with that?”

“No. Thank kami.”

“His eyes…”

Sakura looked down. “Since your current self took his eyes, when he was brought back to life, he did not have his own eyes. Kaka-sensei said it was okay for me to give him yours, to get the eternal mangekyou sharingan. It’s… a little bit different than what you can get with your own eyes, and there’s no risk of blindness.”

The girl reached into her pouch, and pulled out a medical kit. She slid it over the table where Sasuke stood. He eyed that suspiciously.

“Itachi had a – at the time – incurable disease. Tuberculosis,” she said, and nodded at him as he opened the pouch up, “There’s some medicine there that will slowly heal him up from that. It is quite contagious, so make sure the one from your time doesn’t accidentally cough on you.”

Sasuke blinked. This… She wanted him to give him the cure for it?

“I know, I just figure that having him on your side might increase your chances of going against Obito… and Madara,” her lips pursed, “Itachi mentioned that he has been revived now, but is still in edo tensei. I believe they are wanting him around to ensure their chances of defeating the Leaf.”

This time, he frowned. So now, there were three Uchiha who were hell-bent on destroying Konoha. Their chances somehow plummeted even further. From the look on Sakura’s face, she knew this. “Itachi has a lot on his shoulders in this timeline now. He’s the only one that might stand a chance against you and Madara. Kakashi-sensei thinks he might be able to go toe-to-toe with Obito, though.”

She clasped her hands together, and rested her head against them. She looked nervous now, as Sasuke looked over the vials and the three bottles of pills. Inside, there was a note, and it mentioned something about there being an extra amount there so that a cure could be copied from it, so the disease could be eradicated quicker. It said to pass it onto Tsunade when they had a chance. He remembered that she was somewhat around then, and had just become Hokage after the Third was murdered by Orochimaru.

He wondered what was irking her now. She clearly had a lot that was going on. She looked tired and more pale than usual as well, which was a hard feat with the latter since she was very light normally.

“I figure, since you’re going back now…” she swallowed, “I think it’s best that you know about Sarada. About her… when she was…” she trailed off and looked down, clearly uncomfortable with talking about this now.

He could not blame her. She was remembering what he had done to her. He had seen glimpses from Itachi, and he knew… He shook his head. It wasn’t him. He wouldn’t do that to her, not again. She didn’t deserve it. That was one thing he was sure that was going to change. Still…

“July 9th,” she said quietly, “That was when she was conceived. I was seventeen, as were you.”

Sasuke nodded numbly, absorbing this information as he replaced the ties on the medical pouch she had given him, and ensured that it was tightly held together.

That was… four and a half years from now. For him, at least.

“I want her to exist,” Sakura said. “I can’t imagine a life without Sarada. She means the world to me.”

Another nod. “I… It won’t happen again. Not like that.”

“I know. I just… can you promise me that things won’t end up like this?”

Sasuke felt a lot at that moment. She was entrusting him with something so important to her. The life of her daughter. He wanted it to be different – for her to…

“I promise.”

“Thank you, Sasuke-kun.”


	9. Behind a Crow's Eyes

Today was the day where it was foretold that the village would be attacked by three Uchiha. Crimson eyes focused on the sun that was hidden behind some clothes, and was still etched into the horizon. Sarada took a deep breath, and nodded at her mother launching into the air, grabbing onto a stray pole, and slinging herself up to the top of the rooftop. Her mother followed behind her rather gracefully, her lab coat falling gently behind her. Her mother tucked a strand of stray, ebony hair behind her ear, and kissed the top of her head.

“We’ll be okay, Sarada…”

Sarada did not know if she could trust her mother. Things felt wrong. They could feel massive spikes of chakra slowly closing in on the village, and she felt irked by it all. She had never felt this much energy together all at once.

She did not answer her mother, keeping her eyes on the rising sun.

She watched from her peripherals as hundreds of ninja launched themselves onto the rooftops, and heard the ruffling of footsteps from below. The civilians were evacuated yesterday afternoon, Orochimaru allowed them all into his many underground bunkers.

“Make sure we stick together, sweetheart,” her mother said quietly, her own eyes focusing on all the shinobi that were gathered around.

Naruto and her young father appeared next. No longer were they in their disguises, instead wearing what Sarada assumed was their usual clothing. A bright orange jumpsuit for Naruto, and a dark blue shirt for her father. Her eyes met his, and he also had his sharingan activated. Unlike hers, his was fully developed, three tomoe in each eye, while she had two in each.

“Hey, guys.”

Boruto appeared with his hands on his hips. Her other teammate, Mitsuki, was there also. He was to stay in the village and gather sage chakra to distribute when people ran out of chakra. Numerous snakes were stationed around the village, close to tiny slugs that would act as a healing source.

The group saw both Itachi and Kakashi in the distance, surrounded by shinobi. No one questioned Itachi being there, just happy to have more people on their side. Itachi had a reputation, after all.

Sarada’s gaze fell back onto her blond teammate, who now had his byakugan activated( **1** ).

“Alright,” she heard her mother say. “I need you all to stick with me. We will try and find an opening, if not, we’ll smash through one. We’re to avoid Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara as well as we can. Itachi is fairly sure that Sasuke will try to come for us directly…” she paused at this, her pink eyebrows furrowed. “Our mission is to send Naruto and Sasuke back to their timeline, that is our ultimate goal.”

Her mother gave a curt nod. This woman was different to the one that raised her.

She was a _shinobi_.

“Itachi will try and follow us as well as he can, but his focus is on Sasuke or Madara,” she shook her head, “So we can’t rely fully on him. I trust all of you in your abilities, and I’m sure the Zetsu that they have brought will not be able to be strong enough to keep us back.”

Sarada felt a gentle tap on her shoulder from Mitsuki, who gave her a small smile. “I’ll try and help you where I can, but I do have to stay in the village…” his eyes flickered onto Boruto, “Keep yourselves safe. I want to continue to be on your team.”

As he said that, his body ‘poofed’ away, showing that he was a clone.

“Zetsu?” Sasuke said, speaking up.

“They’re… clones. They’re the only beings that seem to want to fight with those guys,” Sarada said, adjusting her glasses. Her mother had said that they would be no doubt part of the assault on the village.

Sarada felt terror build in her chest, and she could feel the same from the other kids. Other than her mother. She was a jonin _plus_ after all, she had been in battles. But maybe not anything like this, where she was one of the immediate targets. Sarada wondered if her mother was holding a steely expression for the rest of them. Her mother was someone who would do that.

.

Itachi stood beside Kakashi. They had a lucky break with Orochimaru, now that the civilians were out of the village. It was sort of understood that the village will be destroyed to some extent, but they could always rebuild. Kakashi had been surprised that Orochimaru allowed them to escape using his underground networks, but Kakashi knew better than to question anything like that. The two shinobi were surrounded by ten ANBU, and both Kakashi’s and Itachi’s ANBU tattoos were visible, further proving their status.

“What do you think?” Kakashi asked, giving a glance to Itachi as he raised his headband.

“We need to keep Sasuke off of the kids and Sakura,” he said. “That is the only way we can assure victory, at this point. I’m not fully confident in dealing with _either_ Madara or Sasuke. Worse, if they decide to both take me on.”

The Hokage felt like he was sending Itachi off to his death, but he knew that the older Uchiha brother had already accepted that years ago. It was true that as a shinobi you had to expect the worst, and sometimes death was part of that equation. The two men watched as the kids and Sakura headed towards the general direction of the Valley of the End.

“Keep them safe as well as you can, Itachi,” Kakashi said.

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” he responded.

Three massive chakra approached, and in front of the two men stood three Uchihas. In front of them, was Sasuke. Itachi’s eyes flickered onto Madara, who had his eyes closed, dried blood smeared beneath them.

‘ _Ah… he’s been revived fully… they must have used the Zetsu as a sacrifice… Orochimaru wouldn’t have shared his secret._ ’

“How are you going to fight with no eyes?” Itachi found himself saying.

Madara looked amused. “I have my ways. Make sure you don’t get those eyes of yours damaged, they’re mine.”

That… made sense.

Itachi had a fully developed eternal mangekyou. Of course Madara would know of this, no doubt from Sasuke himself.

Obito spoke now, “ _Hokage-sama_ ,” he spat. “Just surrender. This isn’t a fight any of you can win.”

“No can do, old friend,” Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, and opened the eye that contained his old friend’s sharingan.

“Hmph. Just be aware, he did give you a chance,” Sasuke said, before his expression changed for a moment. He glanced behind himself, and scowled thickly. “So, that’s where…” before promptly vanishing.

Madara laughed dryly to himself, also vanishing. This wasn’t good.

“Where are they going?”

Obito looked irritated. “… probably to that _girl_.”

‘ _Already?_ ’

Itachi glanced at the Hokage, who nodded.

He felt torn over the situation… but he was told to keep those two off of the primary mission. He disappeared in his signature flurry of crow feathers.

The Zetsu appeared, surrounding all of the Leaf shinobi. There was no order, just instant battle.

_._

_._

_._

The medic landed a brutal hit onto the ground, and watched as debris spewed all around them. Her own daughter had done the same thing, albeit not as powerful as her mother’s. Any white Zetsu that had been around were either crushed or had debris thrown onto them, knocking them out.

Sakura looked back. “We’re through! Let’s go!”

Everyone darted forwards, taking care to not trip on any of the stone or the knocked out white beings. Sasuke looked disgusted as he passed them. What _are_ these? He did not know, and he wasn’t even sure if he _wanted_ to know. They made their way into the forest, hopping onto tree branches and getting through as quickly as they could. When he left the village, it had taken him about an hour to reach the Valley of the End where he and Naruto fought. At the speed they were going at now, they could reach their destination quicker.

Boruto was on lookout, and the group was in silence. Even Naruto had nothing to say, and just followed along beside Sasuke. His daughter was just behind her mother, scanning her surroundings and looking out for any irregularities with chakra that was around them. She seemed to not see anything, but Sasuke was still on high alert, also looking around himself for anything that was out of the ordinary.

“Boruto, do you see anything?” Sakura asked, before she was pulled back by the young Sasuke.

She met the mismatched eyes of the other Sasuke, who was perched atop a dead tree. His eyes were focused on Sakura, as he glared down at the group. Sasuke felt his breath still as he regarded his older self. He could feel the man’s monstrous chakra, and felt himself shake somewhat. This was what he would become… if he allowed the darkness to swallow him whole.

Sakura let out a growl. “Let us through.”

He chuckled at her rather bitterly, “Why would I do that? If you and Sarada come with me _now_ , I might be able to call off the invasion.”

Sarada gripped onto her mother’s arm, “No way! We’re not doing that.”

“Then the village will burn,” he said, tone almost emotionless. He really didn’t care. His focus was definitely more on Sarada and Sakura at that point of time.

His eyes shifted to his younger self. “Explain. How are you and Naruto _here_?”

Sasuke did not utter a single word, and glanced down at his feet. He knew that the man could trap him in a genjutsu and get him to spill everything. It was too risky. Way too risky.

Before anything else could be said, Sasuke straightened up and blocked a blow from his older brother. Or at least, tried to, as he was pushed back into the forest with such a hard hit.

Itachi’s gaze fell onto the group. “You all need to go. And watch out for Madara, I am unsure where he is at the moment.”

Above, the crow chirped. “Follow the girl,” Itachi ordered, and the crow made a noise of acknowledgement.

“Oji-san…”

“It’s fine, Sarada… just go. _Now._ ”

He disappeared as quickly as he came, no doubt to pursue Sasuke.

.

.

.

His mismatched eyes met his brother. He figured where the group was headed to. He found himself at the Valley of the End. It was close to complete destruction, due to his and Naruto’s previous fight. It had been a good fight, but Naruto was _too weak_ to keep up. Idiot. If he had of stayed in the village, maybe Sasuke would not have been forced to kill him.

His brother landed onto the lake, chakra flowing beneath his shoes.

“You can still come back from this,” Itachi said. “You can help us get rid of Madara and Obito. Surely, you realise that they are using your hatred against you.”

Sasuke had always thought that was the case. But even if he was being used, it still allowed him to get his goals. While he did not care about ‘ruling the world’ like the other two did, he just wanted the Leaf _gone_. From the distant explosions, he could tell that was happening now. It was riveting to know that the village was being destroyed like he wanted. As for Sakura and Sarada, he wanted them. His child and the woman he… cared for. Sure, he did things the wrong way but it would have happened _anyways_ , and she was always his. It was as simple as taking something that was his to begin with. He deserved that much.

The only reason he had not taken his kid and the _girl_ then, was that he knew that they would be used against him by Obito. The plan always was to turn on Obito once his uses ran dry. He did not want Madara in the equation, but maybe Obito realised what was going on and brought him back for that very reason. While he could handle Obito easily enough, Madara was a whole other separate issue. The man was a monster through and through, and even though he currently did not have eyes, it was clear he still had access to _susano’o_.

He would have to separate the two to even have a chance of defeating them. Maybe taking out the weaker link in Obito was the best idea, then coming back for Madara at a later time.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders at his brother’s question. “It’s all a means to an end.”

“Tsk…”

“So, they gave you _my_ eyes, then?” Sasuke asked, stepping forward. “It makes sense, since I have yours now.”

Itachi watched on wearily. “… It was needed. They weren’t in use anymore.”

“Huh…”

.

.

.

They finally made their way to Valley of the End. They sat atop the cliff’s edge, hiding behind large boulders. The group looked down and saw Itachi and Sasuke battling it out, black flames surrounding them. They had very similar abilities, although Sasuke has the upper hand due to the rinnegan. Sakura watched as Sasuke would dart around, replacing himself with Itachi’s own summons.

“What do we do?” Sarada asked, her tone hushed.

“We can’t intervene,” Sasuke responded.

Sakura nodded in agreement. “It’s too dangerous to go down there now. But we need to be able to…”

Her attention was caught by something in the distance. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched a man jump down from one of the broken statues, and promptly swung a sword with the intent to behead Itachi.

Luckily, he avoided this.

“Shit…” Sakura said softly, “Don’t follow me.”

She jumped down, and went straight to Itachi’s side. He must have said something to her, and she just shook her head.

.

.

.

“I told you to stay out of it,” Itachi said, eyeing Madara closely.

Sakura did not answer him, but could feel his annoyance rise at her being there.

The Uchiha elder had a wicked grin on his face. Despite having no eyes, he seemed to be able to tell where everyone was. His body was shielded by the blue chakra of his _susano’o_ , and it was clear that it would be hard to break through his defence.

Madara averted his face towards Sakura. “So this is the woman that you’re wanting to capture, no? I can’t promise that I won’t kill her.”

Sasuke gave the other Uchiha a look, but did not voice whatever it was that popped into his head.

“She’s part of the Leaf, part of the problem,” he chuckled, “She surely hates the Uchiha as well. Don’t you think _she_ needs to be put down as well?”

Sakura frowned to herself. He was manipulating Sasuke right in front of her. Her eyes focused on Sasuke. She had not seen him face-to-face in a long time. He had barely aged. She felt herself slightly shiver, thinking of _that night_. But right now, that was not what she can be thinking of. She allowed her seal to activate, and touched Itachi’s arm, pushing her chakra into him and healing up any injuries or tiredness.

He gave her a quick nod, but did not take his attention off of his brother and the Uchiha elder.

“That’s not your concern,” Sasuke said, tone smooth but it showed off his fury of being told about _any_ of this.

Sakura realised then, that maybe she had an immunity to Sasuke himself. Maybe… she could…

“As for the brat,” Madara smirked, “I’m sure there’s other women that would be _happy_ to have your child.”

The younger Uchiha brother snapped this time, and focused his gaze on his teammate. “Shut the fuck up, before I kill you for good.”

In response, Madara lifted up his arms and grinned, “Hey, it’s just an idea. Might make things a bit easier.”

“Your ‘ideas’ are unneeded,” Sasuke snarled back.

“Hmph.”

.

.

.

“Mama…” Sarada said softly to herself.

Sasuke placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder, in a hope to comfort her, but she just shook him off. She glared his way. “This is your fault, you know that?”

The young avenger knew damn well that it was his fault. But he could not say anything to her, couldn’t even bring himself to. He knew that he had messed up badly, and he wanted to make things right. The way things were going, however…

“Your mother will be fine,” Sasuke said, trying to convince the girl – “He does not seem to want to kill her. Or _you_.”

“Tsk…”

The group of kids watched as all four shinobi pulled back from each-other, before charging. Sarada’s mother launched herself into the air, clearly going for Sasuke himself. Madara was being dealt with by Itachi, but something seemed wrong. Madara was playing around with him, avoiding all hits that Itachi was trying to get on him.

What happened next occurred in slow motion for Sasuke.

He watched as suddenly Madara gripped onto Itachi’s hair, and yanked him downwards before he promptly beheaded him. Next, he ripped the man’s eyes out and replaced them into his own empty sockets. Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he heard the three kids gasp loudly before Sarada let out a blood-curdling scream.

Almost instantly, as this occurred, black flames licked Madara’s armour, and the man had to shrug it all off and jump back, his eyes falling onto other Sasuke. Young Sasuke felt his eyes _burn_ , and his vision seemed to be clearer than ever. What…? His eyes felt like they were _burning_ , but he could not take his eyes off of this train-wreck that was occurring before them.

The three kids leapt out of their hiding spot, as Sakura stood in front of them. Her mouth was agape, and she looked traumatised. Her fists shook by her sides as Itachi’s remains sunk deep into the water.

“Sarada—“

“Mama!”

The woman stood fiercely in front of the kids, using her body as a shield.

Sasuke watched as the crow that was perched upon Sarada’s shoulder darted forwards and seemingly locked eyes with the other Sasuke.

What happened next, he could not explain.

Sasuke, rather than charging for Sakura again, turned on Madara.

.

Sakura was the one that reacted first. “Sasuke?”

His eyes flickered onto Sakura. “I have to protect the Leaf. Whatever you need to do with those kids, do it now. I can keep him at bay for the moment.”

Where had this change come from? The crow from earlier seemed to be tired out from whatever had happened, and Sarada darted forward to catch him. Madara was watching the scene play out before him with curious eyes. The other Sasuke unsheathed his katana, and pointed it at Madara.

“I see… well,” Madara shrugged, his eyes opening, to reveal the mangekyou that had been shoved within the socket. “I was going to take your eyes after the Leaf was destroyed, but… I don’t mind doing that earlier than planned now.”

Young Sasuke’s eyes focused wearily upon his older self. What had changed? What had that crow done? His thoughts drifted to the now deceased Itachi… he had mentioned something about a jutsu that Shisui had. Could that be it? Surely…

“Sarada, Sasuke-kun, Naruto and Boruto—“ Sakura shouted out, catching the attention of all of the kids. “I need you to do that jutsu _now_.”

Sasuke winced at Sakura words before looking over to Sarada. She made her way to him, before the kids all separated. Young Sasuke watched as Sakura stood beside Sasuke. Whatever happened, she seemingly trusted him for the moment.

The two shinobi charged for Madara, who was now very distracted by what was happening.

Sasuke nodded at his daughter, and weaved his hands together for the _chidori_. He watched as Naruto summoned a clone, and his son created the _rasengan_ without the use of a clone. The girl followed his lead, also summoning chakra into the palm of her hand. The kids nodded at each-other before darting forward, and like before, white flittered in front of them.

This time, though, they did not lose consciousness.

A portal appeared in front of them, ominous in its prescence.

“It worked…” Sarada huffed, gripping her right arm.

Boruto groaned, glancing at his own burned arm.

Naruto and Sasuke were more used to the attacks, and adrenaline was running high through them both. The two boys nodded at each-other, before a blue chakra arm slammed down in front of them, forcing the kids to pull back. Boruto had grabbed onto Sarada, and launched her back, while both of the past boys were just out of reach.

“I don’t think so,” Madara snapped.

Young Sasuke’s eyes flickered onto the elder Uchiha. His expression was of one that was cockiness. Older Sasuke snarled, and summoned his own skeletal deity. It swept away at Madara’s blue chakra, and Madara snarled.

“Why stop me? If you let them go—“

“Shut up.”

Sasuke felt the back of his eyes _pulse_ , and black fire spread around the portal, enclosing the kids within it rather safely.

Older Sasuke’s eyes widened. “Mangekyou?”

“What…?” Sakura said, her eyes flickering onto the young Sasuke. “Itachi…”

Sakura made her way to them, and the flames gave way as she walked passed before enclosing around them again. She knelt down, her chakra stopping her from sinking into the water. Once more, older Sasuke and Madara were at it again.

She pressed her hand against his cheek. “Sasuke-kun, you have to be careful—“ she started, “—you’ll go blind with overuse. Don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

The diamond on her forehead glowed a gentle pink as she healed the side of his head, and he relaxed into her touch.

“You need to go. Boruto…” her attention shifted to the blond boy. “Take Sarada and _run_. Sasuke and I will deal with him…”

Sarada opened her mouth to protest, but with a quick weave of Sakura’s fingers, she was locked within a genjutsu. Boruto caught his teammate before she could plunge into the watery depths.

“Sakura—“

“Just go. The flames will pass for you, like they did with me,” Sakura said her tone gentle and motherly. “ _Go_.”

At her last word, the boy turned heel with Sarada in his arms and ran.

Sasuke’s attention flickered onto Sakura. “Why—“

“I’m not sure if we’ll…” she shook her head. “You two need to go as well.”

Sasuke nodded, and Naruto grabbed onto the boy’s arm. “Don’t die, Sakura-chan!”

She laughed bitterly. “I’ll try not to. I think with Sasuke on my side, we might have a little bit more of a chance but… I’m not willing for those two to end up in his hands,” her eyes flickered up to Sasuke. “Don’t forget…”

With her last words, Sasuke remembered – she wanted Sarada to exist. He promised this girl that much.

With that, she gave them both a kiss on top of their foreheads, and the flames that enclosed around them died down. She made her way back to Madara and Sasuke, who were duking it out rather evenly.

“Be safe…” she whispered, but Sasuke was lucky enough to catch it.

Naruto and Sasuke’s looked at each-other, before nodding and jumping into the portal.


	10. Epilogue

The two boys landed rather unceremoniously, dropping straight into the water. They both swam up, and made their way to the shore, where their headbands laid after seemingly being swept up. They heaved, and lied down against the sandy shore. Sasuke wiped his cheeks, blood staining the back of his hand. Were his eyes still bleeding? He had unlocked the mangekyou with Itachi’s death… surely that wasn’t right? He remembered that he had been told to kill his best friend, and yet…

Naruto coughed, wiped his lips and picked up their headbands. He tossed Sasuke’s one back to him.

Sasuke frowned, glancing down at the headband and the scratch through the centre of the Leaf symbol. Everything went so wrong, but he was rather powerful in the future… clearly. He jumped before patting down his sides, and reaching for the medical kit that Sakura had given him. He checked the contents and nodded to himself when everything seemed fine.

“We should go back…” Naruto said, now lying down and looking at the blue sky.

The Uchiha stayed quiet for a moment, before taking out one of each of the vials that he had been given. He opened each of them to check that they had not been damaged in any way, and saw that there was a note in one of them. He read it to himself, realising that it was addressed to Tsunade. Apparently, Sakura wanted Tsunade to understand what exactly this was. He then wrapped the bottles in his headband, leaving two of them there.

“You can.”

“W—Wait— _What_!?” Naruto darted up straight away. “You’re not still planning to…!?”

Sasuke shrugged. “I need to get powerful to take on Obito, and maybe _Madara_ —“ his voice became venomous at that name. “—at some point. Obviously, Orochimaru made me strong.”

“Didn’t you see what happened—Surely, there’s some other way. Kakashi-sensei can _train_ you!”

“We don’t have long, I don’t think. I don’t have the time to—“

“You’re a fucking idiot, teme!”

Sasuke looked away. “Maybe, but this might still be—“

“ _Ugh_! Is there even anything I can say to stop you?”

The Uchiha heir shrugged. “Probably not.”

“ _Fine_!” Naruto huffed out. “I’ll come with you then.”

Sasuke blinked. Once. Twice. “What?”

The Uzumaki grinned and gave Sasuke a thumbs up. “Look, I can _probably_ stop you from becoming a blood thirsty monster. And to do that, I’ll go with you. To keep you in line.”

Sighing, Sasuke stood up and dusted himself off. Naruto wearily placed his headband next to Sasuke’s folded up one.

“Fine.”

And the two boys headed off into the forest, where Sasuke had been told to go from the Sound shinobi that had attacked him previously. The boys (more Naruto) spoke about what to say to the snake sannin, with Naruto’s choice of joining Sasuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the first part is finally done. This has been done for a little while, but I was nervous about the previous chapter. I'm not really the best at fight scenes, but it will have to do. The second 'book' will be released sometime next week. It will be under the name Stand Still. I have written a couple of chapters for it, and I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit, as there won't be anymore jumping through time and it'll be about the boys attempting to fix the broken future. I'm hyped for a couple of scenes I've written which will carve out the relationships and friendships within this.
> 
> Again, my apologies for not updating in months. Depression has been hitting me hard, but I find that writing makes me distracted for a little while. I'm going to try to do longer chapters and not having a time to have them done, as that sort of puts me in the dumps. Don't get me wrong, I adore this story due to what it meant to be me when I was younger, so I do hope I am doing the previous owners justice to some extent. I hope I'll get better with fight scenes as we continue, as I used to more focus on dialogue and interactions between characters rather than action scenes. I do hope you'll continue on with this journey, but I do understand if you won't due to my lack of ability to update regularly for the moment.
> 
> Again, the sequel will be called Stand Still. I will leave this as the finale for a few days, before updating that one with the prologue and first chapter like I did with Paradox. My friend was the one that's doing art, I think you'll enjoy the character designs that we've come up with. Particularly with an older Hinata, I really love what we came up with for her.


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